{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1", "user_comment": "This feed allows you to read the posts from this site in any feed reader that supports the JSON Feed format. To add this feed to your reader, copy the following URL -- https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/feed/json/ -- and add it your reader.", "home_page_url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "feed_url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/feed/json/", "language": "en-US", "title": "John Voorhees – MacStories", "description": "Apple news, app reviews, and stories by Federico Viticci and friends.", "items": [ { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=74003", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/federicos-evolving-setup/", "title": "Federico\u2019s Evolving Setup", "content_html": "
\"Federico

Federico with the Z13 Acronym.

\n

Just like the App Store Review Guidelines, our Setups page is a living document. Federico and I are always tweaking and refining the gear we use, so it should come as no surprise that today, Federico updated his sections of the Setups page with new items, including his Asus gaming tablet from this week’s episode of MacStories Unwind and the accessories he used to mod his iPad Pro. He dropped a few items too.

\n
\"Federico's

Federico’s iPad Pro mods.

\n

We’ve included a handy changelog at the top of the Setups page if you want to see the latest changes and will be linking updates here on the homepage to make it easy to follow along. I’ll have some updates soon too, but I’ve been waiting for a package for over a month that got stuck in Cologne, Germany. I’d love to spill the beans today, but what fun would that be? I’ll reveal what I’ve been up to soon enough.

\n

Until then, here are the latest changes to Federico’s setup:

\n\n

\u2192 Source: macstories.net

", "content_text": "Federico with the Z13 Acronym.\nJust like the App Store Review Guidelines, our Setups page is a living document. Federico and I are always tweaking and refining the gear we use, so it should come as no surprise that today, Federico updated his sections of the Setups page with new items, including his Asus gaming tablet from this week’s episode of MacStories Unwind and the accessories he used to mod his iPad Pro. He dropped a few items too.\nFederico’s iPad Pro mods.\nWe’ve included a handy changelog at the top of the Setups page if you want to see the latest changes and will be linking updates here on the homepage to make it easy to follow along. I’ll have some updates soon too, but I’ve been waiting for a package for over a month that got stuck in Cologne, Germany. I’d love to spill the beans today, but what fun would that be? I’ll reveal what I’ve been up to soon enough.\nUntil then, here are the latest changes to Federico’s setup:\nAdded Z13 Acronym to Videogames section (Unwind episode)\nRemoved Raikiri Pro game controller and replaced with FlyDiGi Vader 3 Pro and GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro\nAdded Hall effect joysticks to ROG Ally section\nAdded Edge Pro MagSafe holder and BoomCan MS from How I Modded My iPad Pro with a Screen Protector, iPhone Holder, and Magnetic Stereo Speakers\nRemoved mentions of velcro and replaced with AllyMate and DeckMate in ROG Ally and Steam Deck sections\nApps section: updated entries for media tracker, read later, podcast, weather, and team communication apps\nAdded new Belkin charger\n\n\u2192 Source: macstories.net", "date_published": "2024-01-19T15:50:14-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-19T15:50:14-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "setups", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73995", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/macstories-unwind-godzilla-vs-ticcis-surprise-part-2/", "title": "MacStories Unwind: Godzilla vs. Ticci\u2019s Surprise, Part 2", "content_html": "
\n
\n \n
\n
\n 0:00
31:10\n
\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\n
\"\"\"\"
\n
\"\"\"\"
\n
\n

This week on MacStories Unwind, I recommend Godzilla Minus One in honor of Magic Rays of Light joining MacStories and Federico shares part two of his big gaming surprise, explaining the hardware he’s using to emulate Switch games and more.

\n\n

John’s Pick

\n

Ticci’s Absolutely Bananas Gaming Tablet

\n
\"Strap

Strap included.

\n
\"The

The Ultimate lifestyle shots

\n
\"Ticci

Ticci and ACRNM.

\n
\"Who

Who doesn’t love a kickstand?

\n

MacStories Unwind+

\n
\"\"

\n

We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.

\n

To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "0:0031:10\n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \nThis week on MacStories Unwind, I recommend Godzilla Minus One in honor of Magic Rays of Light joining MacStories and Federico shares part two of his big gaming surprise, explaining the hardware he’s using to emulate Switch games and more.\nLinks and Show Notes\nJohn’s Pick\nMagic Rays of Light\nGodzilla Minus One\nTrailer\nWatch Godzilla Minus One in dazzling black and white during limited US run\nMonarch: Legacy of Monsters\n\nTicci’s Absolutely Bananas Gaming Tablet\nROG Flow Z13\nROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02\nStrap included.\nThe Ultimate lifestyle shots\nTicci and ACRNM.\nWho doesn’t love a kickstand?\nMacStories Unwind+\n\nWe deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-19T12:13:50-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-19T15:32:58-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "unwind", "news" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/067e4f59-2a7b-4333-a65c-af10dca0fcd9/audio/dc691d3c-cfc6-4213-bcaf-cf9e0508b218/default_tc.mp3?nocache", "mime_type": "audio/mpeg", "size_in_bytes": 22883995 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73989", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-releases-a-guided-tour-of-vision-pro-and-shares-a-making-of-video/", "title": "Apple Releases a Guided Tour of Vision Pro and Shares a Making Of Video", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Apple has released a guided tour of Vision Pro on its website that walks through a bunch of its features. Whether or not you’re planning to purchase Apple Vision Pro, this video is worth taking the time to watch. It’s about ten minutes long and covers many of the device’s core features from the perspective of someone using it for the first time.

\n
\n

I wish I’d seen this guided tour earlier. As someone who hasn’t had a hands-on demo of Apple Vision Pro, this video has done far more to get me excited to try it myself than anything else.

\n

Tim Cook also shared a montage video on X/Twitter of the Vision Pro being manufactured, which can also be viewed on YouTube. The careful orchestration of robots milling parts and stitching bands together is mesmerizing to watch.

\n
\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nApple has released a guided tour of Vision Pro on its website that walks through a bunch of its features. Whether or not you’re planning to purchase Apple Vision Pro, this video is worth taking the time to watch. It’s about ten minutes long and covers many of the device’s core features from the perspective of someone using it for the first time.\n\nI wish I’d seen this guided tour earlier. As someone who hasn’t had a hands-on demo of Apple Vision Pro, this video has done far more to get me excited to try it myself than anything else.\nTim Cook also shared a montage video on X/Twitter of the Vision Pro being manufactured, which can also be viewed on YouTube. The careful orchestration of robots milling parts and stitching bands together is mesmerizing to watch.\n\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-19T09:41:35-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-19T11:01:09-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Vision Pro", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73985", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/every-apple-vision-pro-accessory-option/", "title": "Every Apple Vision Pro Accessory Option", "content_html": "
\"The

The Vision Pro Travel Case.

\n

If you finished the Apple Vision Pro checkout process with any money left in your bank account, Apple has several accessories available for its new spatial computing headset.

\n
\"The

The Vision Pro battery.

\n

At the $199 price point, you have three options:

\n
\"The

The light seal.

\n
\"The

The light seal cushion.

\n

However, if all you need is the light seal cushion, you can order that for $29. The Apple Vision Pro Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band are also available for separate purchase for $99 each.

\n
\"The

The ZEISS lenses.

\n

If you forgot to order ZEISS lens inserts during checkout or your prescription changes, they can be purchased separately starting at $99 for non-prescription ‘reader’ lenses and $149 for prescription lenses.

\n
\"The

The Dual Loop Band.

\n
\"The

The Solo Knit Band.

\n

As previously reported, Belkin is offering a battery clip that includes a case with a clip for the battery and a smaller clip for the power cable for $49.95. Apple also lists a 30W power adapter, USB-C charging cable, the Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) alongside the Vision Pro.

\n
\"Oh

Oh hey, here’s an accessory for less than $100. Thanks Belkin.

\n

Thankfully, it looks like Apple heard the critics of its AirPods Max case and built a polycarbonate protective case with a ‘ripstop outer shell’ and spots to tuck the device’s battery, optical lenses, and cover, along with ‘other accessories.’ The case looks nice, but I took a pass, figuring I can always pick one up in advance of my next trip if I decide to take the Vision Pro on the road with me.

\n

I did, however, buy a spare battery. I expect that I’ll connect the battery that comes with the Vision Pro to power a lot of the time to get more than two hours of use out of it, but a spare battery will allow for greater portability.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "The Vision Pro Travel Case.\nIf you finished the Apple Vision Pro checkout process with any money left in your bank account, Apple has several accessories available for its new spatial computing headset.\nThe Vision Pro battery.\nAt the $199 price point, you have three options:\nA spare battery\nA travel case\nAn extra light seal\nThe light seal.\nThe light seal cushion.\nHowever, if all you need is the light seal cushion, you can order that for $29. The Apple Vision Pro Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band are also available for separate purchase for $99 each.\nThe ZEISS lenses.\nIf you forgot to order ZEISS lens inserts during checkout or your prescription changes, they can be purchased separately starting at $99 for non-prescription ‘reader’ lenses and $149 for prescription lenses.\nThe Dual Loop Band.\nThe Solo Knit Band.\nAs previously reported, Belkin is offering a battery clip that includes a case with a clip for the battery and a smaller clip for the power cable for $49.95. Apple also lists a 30W power adapter, USB-C charging cable, the Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) alongside the Vision Pro.\nOh hey, here’s an accessory for less than $100. Thanks Belkin.\nThankfully, it looks like Apple heard the critics of its AirPods Max case and built a polycarbonate protective case with a ‘ripstop outer shell’ and spots to tuck the device’s battery, optical lenses, and cover, along with ‘other accessories.’ The case looks nice, but I took a pass, figuring I can always pick one up in advance of my next trip if I decide to take the Vision Pro on the road with me.\nI did, however, buy a spare battery. I expect that I’ll connect the battery that comes with the Vision Pro to power a lot of the time to get more than two hours of use out of it, but a spare battery will allow for greater portability.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-19T09:10:31-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-19T09:10:31-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "Vision Pro", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73971", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/a-survey-of-popular-apps-currently-compatible-with-apple-vision-pro/", "title": "A Survey of Popular Apps Currently Compatible With Apple Vision Pro", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

We’re excited about the Apple Vision Pro. In planning our coverage at MacStories, we’ve already collected a list of over 50 apps from some of our favorite developers who have been hard at work on visionOS versions of their apps. Soon after the Vision Pro ships, you’ll start seeing reviews of the best of those apps on MacStories.

\n

However, as we surveyed the App Store, looking for the best examples of upcoming Vision Pro apps and heard the news that Netflix won’t be building a visionOS app or making its iPad app available on the new device, it got us thinking. What other popular apps aren’t coming to visionOS yet, and of those that are, which have gone to the trouble of creating native experiences?

\n

\n

You see, iPhone and iPad apps are compatible with Apple Vision Pro and made available to its users by default. Developers have to affirmatively opt-out, using App Store Connect if they don’t want their apps to show up in the device’s App Store.

\n
\"It's

It’s possible to check visionOS compatibility with Shortcuts.

\n

As it turns out, it’s possible to tell if a developer has opted out by using App Store API endpoints. So, with a little help, we built a shortcut to check some of the most popular apps on the App Store. We had heard through the grapevine that Spotify was showing that it would be available in compatibility mode several days ago but had flipped to unavailable on the Vision Pro, and sure enough, our shortcut confirms Spotify has opted out of offering its app on day one. Also, in testing the shortcut and fact-checking its results, we came across a Gist on GitHub that was last active last week and uses a similar approach to our shortcut but by using a Python script, which lends support to our findings.

\n

Before we get to our findings below, a word of caution. An opted-out app may become available in the future. A good example is Disney+, which was demoed by Apple to members of the press earlier this week. Disney’s app currently shows that the company has opted out of Vision Pro compatibility. Instead of indicating that Disney is taking a pass on the device, this is most likely because the app isn’t ready yet, and an app update will flip the switch to make it Vision Pro-compatible.

\n
\"Sports

Sports seem like a natural fit with the Vision Pro, but so far, the list of compatible apps is a little thin.

\n

So, as you browse the results below, keep in mind the following:

\n

All that said, it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s likely that many popular apps won’t be available when customers start receiving their Vision Pros. They may become available later, but there’s no guarantee that will be the case.

\n

What we found when we searched 46 of the most popular apps on the App Store is that as of today, none will be available on launch day as native apps, and just over one-third will be available in compatibility mode. Again, those numbers can change, but we’re only 15 days out from launch, so it’s hard to see those numbers swinging significantly. Here are the full results of our research:

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
AppVision Pro Support?Native App?
Entertainment
YouTube❌
Spotify❌
Amazon Prime Video✅❌
Peacock✅❌
Paramount+✅❌
Roku❌
YouTube Music❌
TIDAL❌
Social/Community
Instagram❌
Threads❌
Facebook❌
WhatsApp❌
TikTok❌
Snapchat❌
Telegram✅❌
Reddit✅❌
Discord✅❌
News
The New York Times❌
Washington Post✅❌
CNN✅❌
The Guardian✅❌
BBC News❌
Sports
NBA✅❌
MLB❌
NFL❌
F1 TV❌
MLS✅❌
Premier League✅❌
Games
Minecraft❌
Genshin Impact❌
Resident Evil Village❌
Resident Evil 4❌
Shopping/Delivery
Amazon❌
Temu✅❌
Uber Eats✅❌
DoorDash❌
Dating
Tinder✅❌
Bumble❌
Ride Sharing
Uber✅❌
Lyft❌
Productivity
Google❌
Gmail❌
Google Chrome❌
Google Calendar❌
ChatGPT❌
Notion✅❌

Finally, we checked a bunch of Apple apps that are available on the App Store and discovered several that haven’t been mentioned by Apple that may be available in compatibility mode on the Vision Pro, including:

\n

It’s not entirely clear if the list above will be available on the Vision Pro in compatibility mode or not because many of these apps are App Store listings that are effectively placeholders to deal with the circumstance where users delete an app and want to reinstall it later. Those App Store listings are fundamentally different than third-party apps, and as a result, we are unable to confirm whether they will in fact be compatible with Vision Pro.

\n

So, where does that leave you if you’re considering ordering an Apple Vision Pro tomorrow? I think it’s fair to say that you’ll be able to do quite a lot with the built-in native apps Apple offers supplemented by its apps that will run in compatibility mode. Beyond that, big-name apps are likely to be hit-or-miss affairs at launch, with some running in compatibility mode and, aside from those already announced by Apple, very few running natively. That’s a little disappointing, but this is a new platform that will have few users at first, so it’s also understandable that many companies are playing ‘wait-and-see.’

\n

However, what I expect you’ll also see at launch is a significant number of high-quality apps from indie developers. We haven’t had a chance to test those apps yet, but we’ve been talking to developers for weeks and like what we’ve seen a lot. We’ll have lots of coverage of those apps in the coming weeks.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nWe’re excited about the Apple Vision Pro. In planning our coverage at MacStories, we’ve already collected a list of over 50 apps from some of our favorite developers who have been hard at work on visionOS versions of their apps. Soon after the Vision Pro ships, you’ll start seeing reviews of the best of those apps on MacStories.\nHowever, as we surveyed the App Store, looking for the best examples of upcoming Vision Pro apps and heard the news that Netflix won’t be building a visionOS app or making its iPad app available on the new device, it got us thinking. What other popular apps aren’t coming to visionOS yet, and of those that are, which have gone to the trouble of creating native experiences?\n\nYou see, iPhone and iPad apps are compatible with Apple Vision Pro and made available to its users by default. Developers have to affirmatively opt-out, using App Store Connect if they don’t want their apps to show up in the device’s App Store.\nIt’s possible to check visionOS compatibility with Shortcuts.\nAs it turns out, it’s possible to tell if a developer has opted out by using App Store API endpoints. So, with a little help, we built a shortcut to check some of the most popular apps on the App Store. We had heard through the grapevine that Spotify was showing that it would be available in compatibility mode several days ago but had flipped to unavailable on the Vision Pro, and sure enough, our shortcut confirms Spotify has opted out of offering its app on day one. Also, in testing the shortcut and fact-checking its results, we came across a Gist on GitHub that was last active last week and uses a similar approach to our shortcut but by using a Python script, which lends support to our findings.\nBefore we get to our findings below, a word of caution. An opted-out app may become available in the future. A good example is Disney+, which was demoed by Apple to members of the press earlier this week. Disney’s app currently shows that the company has opted out of Vision Pro compatibility. Instead of indicating that Disney is taking a pass on the device, this is most likely because the app isn’t ready yet, and an app update will flip the switch to make it Vision Pro-compatible.\nSports seem like a natural fit with the Vision Pro, but so far, the list of compatible apps is a little thin.\nSo, as you browse the results below, keep in mind the following:\nApps that indicate there’s a native version available means you can count on that app being available on Vision Pro launch day unless the developer withdraws it from sale in the interim\nApps that are available in compatibility mode may or may not be available on launch day because a developer can always withdraw an app in App Store Connect\nApps that are not available in compatibility mode or as a native app have been manually opted out by the developer and won’t be available on launch day unless they opt back in between now and February 2nd\nAll that said, it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s likely that many popular apps won’t be available when customers start receiving their Vision Pros. They may become available later, but there’s no guarantee that will be the case.\nWhat we found when we searched 46 of the most popular apps on the App Store is that as of today, none will be available on launch day as native apps, and just over one-third will be available in compatibility mode. Again, those numbers can change, but we’re only 15 days out from launch, so it’s hard to see those numbers swinging significantly. Here are the full results of our research:\n\nApp\nVision Pro Support?\nNative App?\nEntertainment\n\n\n\n\nYouTube\n❌\n\n\nSpotify\n❌\n\n\nAmazon Prime Video\n✅\n❌\n\nPeacock\n✅\n❌\n\nParamount+\n✅\n❌\n\nRoku\n❌\n\n\nYouTube Music\n❌\n\n\nTIDAL\n❌\n\nSocial/Community\n\n\n\n\nInstagram\n❌\n\n\nThreads\n❌\n\n\nFacebook\n❌\n\n\nWhatsApp\n❌\n\n\nTikTok\n❌\n\n\nSnapchat\n❌\n\n\nTelegram\n✅\n❌\n\nReddit\n✅\n❌\n\nDiscord\n✅\n❌\nNews\n\n\n\n\nThe New York Times\n❌\n\n\nWashington Post\n✅\n❌\n\nCNN\n✅\n❌\n\nThe Guardian\n✅\n❌\n\nBBC News\n❌\n\nSports\n\n\n\n\nNBA\n✅\n❌\n\nMLB\n❌\n\n\nNFL\n❌\n\n\nF1 TV\n❌\n\n\nMLS\n✅\n❌\n\nPremier League\n✅\n❌\nGames\n\n\n\n\nMinecraft\n❌\n\n\nGenshin Impact\n❌\n\n\nResident Evil Village\n❌\n\n\nResident Evil 4\n❌\n\nShopping/Delivery\n\n\n\n\nAmazon\n❌\n\n\nTemu\n✅\n❌\n\nUber Eats\n✅\n❌\n\nDoorDash\n❌\n\nDating\n\n\n\n\nTinder\n✅\n❌\n\nBumble\n❌\n\nRide Sharing\n\n\n\n\nUber\n✅\n❌\n\nLyft\n❌\n\nProductivity\n\n\n\n\nGoogle\n❌\n\n\nGmail\n❌\n\n\nGoogle Chrome\n❌\n\n\nGoogle Calendar\n❌\n\n\nChatGPT\n❌\n\n\nNotion\n✅\n❌\nFinally, we checked a bunch of Apple apps that are available on the App Store and discovered several that haven’t been mentioned by Apple that may be available in compatibility mode on the Vision Pro, including:\nShortcuts\nReminders\nNumbers \nPages\nHome\nMaps\nBooks\nNews\nPodcasts\nApple Music Classical\nShazam\nStocks\nIt’s not entirely clear if the list above will be available on the Vision Pro in compatibility mode or not because many of these apps are App Store listings that are effectively placeholders to deal with the circumstance where users delete an app and want to reinstall it later. Those App Store listings are fundamentally different than third-party apps, and as a result, we are unable to confirm whether they will in fact be compatible with Vision Pro.\nSo, where does that leave you if you’re considering ordering an Apple Vision Pro tomorrow? I think it’s fair to say that you’ll be able to do quite a lot with the built-in native apps Apple offers supplemented by its apps that will run in compatibility mode. Beyond that, big-name apps are likely to be hit-or-miss affairs at launch, with some running in compatibility mode and, aside from those already announced by Apple, very few running natively. That’s a little disappointing, but this is a new platform that will have few users at first, so it’s also understandable that many companies are playing ‘wait-and-see.’\nHowever, what I expect you’ll also see at launch is a significant number of high-quality apps from indie developers. We haven’t had a chance to test those apps yet, but we’ve been talking to developers for weeks and like what we’ve seen a lot. We’ll have lots of coverage of those apps in the coming weeks.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-18T11:12:12-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-18T11:39:11-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73928", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/benq-screenbar-halo-lighting-your-entire-desk-setup/", "title": "BenQ ScreenBar Halo: Lighting Your Entire Desk Setup", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Years ago, I bought a BenQ ScreenBar with Dial. It sat perched on top of my display, bathing my desk in light. I loved it, except for the cables that snaked down the back of my monitor: one to power it via USB-A and the other leading to a knob for turning it on and off and adjusting brightness and light temperature.

\n

I stopped using the BenQ ScreenBar when I moved my desk to an area of my old house where the back of my screen was exposed. The wires hanging off of the ScreenBar were just too messy looking, no matter what I did.

\n

Not long ago, I pulled the ScreenBar out of storage and began using it again. I still wasn’t a fan of the wires, but with my Studio Display facing a wall, it was usable again. That’s why I was interested in trying the ScreenBar Halo when BenQ offered to send me one to test. It’s similar to the older model I was using but with a couple of crucial differences.

\n

\n
\"The

The ScreenBar Halo’s wireless dial.

\n

The biggest difference from the older ScreenBar I was using is that the ScreenBar Halo’s controller knob is wireless, communicating with the light over Bluetooth. That alone cuts down on clutter significantly. Instead of two wires, there’s just one USB-A cable that needs to be plugged into a power source. If you’ve got a spare port on your display that works well because it allows the cable to be tucked away out of sight.

\n

However, one downside is that the ScreenBar Halo is still using USB-A, so I needed an adapter to plug it into my Studio Display. I get that using USB-A helps keep manufacturing costs down, but it’s time for accessories like the ScreenBar Halo to make the move to USB-C. Even better would be to make the power cable detachable, so I could swap it out for one of my own that’s the perfect length for my setup. It’s a small thing, but it would go a long way toward making the ScreenBar Halo fit more seamlessly into different desk configurations.

\n

Ultimately, I expect I’ll switch from powering the ScreenBar Halo with the Studio Display to plugging it into my Meross Smart Power Strip that includes USB-A ports. Tucked out of sight, that will allow me to integrate the ScreenBar Halo into my lighting automation, turning it off automatically when I leave the room.

\n
\"The

The ScreenBar Halo’s backlight.

\n

Another big difference from earlier models is that the ScreenBar Halo has a light on the rear of the device that’s built into the counterweight and allows the device to sit securely on the top of your display. It’s not an especially bright light, but I’ve found that the soft backlighting that the ScreenBar Halo provides looks nice.

\n
\"The

The ScreenBar Halo’s dial lights up briefly when you interact with it.

\n

Both the backlight and desk light, which is notably a little wider than the older version I was using, are controlled via the dial that communicates wirelessly over Bluetooth with the ScreenBar Halo. The surface of the dial is touch-sensitive, with an on/off button in the center that’s surrounded by buttons to control the temperature of the light and its brightness, a heart button that allows you to save a favorite configuration, a mode button for turning on different combinations of the front and back lights, and a button that automatically adjusts the brightness of the ScreenBar Halo based on your room’s ambient lighting. The dial also rotates, so you can adjust the light’s temperature or brightness.

\n
\"The

The ScreenBar Halo can be tuned to a nice range of temperatures. Source: BenQ.

\n

I’ve been using the ScreenBar Halo for nearly a week, and already, it’s a big improvement over the prior model. The wider light bar provides better desktop illumination, and the subtle backlighting looks good, but the real key to the device is the wireless controller. The elimination of that single cable cuts down on clutter and gives you more options when placing the controller on your desk.

\n

Aside from my complaints about the device’s undetachable USB-A cable above, the biggest downside of the ScreenBar Halo, which I’d like to see BenQ solve in a future design, is that the front of the light’s mount blocks my Studio Display’s camera. That isn’t a deal breaker for me because I don’t do a lot of video calling on my Mac, but if you do, there aren’t a lot of great choices other than sliding the light to the side for calls, which could get old fast. A notch in the center of the mount would probably solve the problem for most displays with built-in cameras, but for whatever reason, that hasn’t been done.

\n
\"Source:

Source: BenQ.

\n

Still, the BenQ ScreenBar Halo has been a nice addition to my desk setup. It allows me to dial in exactly the amount of light I want and where I want it, with fewer wires than before and the bonus of a little backlighting behind my display.

\n

The ScreenBar Halo is available directly from BenQ for $179 and can also be purchased from Amazon.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Years ago, I bought a BenQ ScreenBar with Dial. It sat perched on top of my display, bathing my desk in light. I loved it, except for the cables that snaked down the back of my monitor: one to power it via USB-A and the other leading to a knob for turning it on and off and adjusting brightness and light temperature.\nI stopped using the BenQ ScreenBar when I moved my desk to an area of my old house where the back of my screen was exposed. The wires hanging off of the ScreenBar were just too messy looking, no matter what I did.\nNot long ago, I pulled the ScreenBar out of storage and began using it again. I still wasn’t a fan of the wires, but with my Studio Display facing a wall, it was usable again. That’s why I was interested in trying the ScreenBar Halo when BenQ offered to send me one to test. It’s similar to the older model I was using but with a couple of crucial differences.\n\nThe ScreenBar Halo’s wireless dial.\nThe biggest difference from the older ScreenBar I was using is that the ScreenBar Halo’s controller knob is wireless, communicating with the light over Bluetooth. That alone cuts down on clutter significantly. Instead of two wires, there’s just one USB-A cable that needs to be plugged into a power source. If you’ve got a spare port on your display that works well because it allows the cable to be tucked away out of sight.\nHowever, one downside is that the ScreenBar Halo is still using USB-A, so I needed an adapter to plug it into my Studio Display. I get that using USB-A helps keep manufacturing costs down, but it’s time for accessories like the ScreenBar Halo to make the move to USB-C. Even better would be to make the power cable detachable, so I could swap it out for one of my own that’s the perfect length for my setup. It’s a small thing, but it would go a long way toward making the ScreenBar Halo fit more seamlessly into different desk configurations.\nUltimately, I expect I’ll switch from powering the ScreenBar Halo with the Studio Display to plugging it into my Meross Smart Power Strip that includes USB-A ports. Tucked out of sight, that will allow me to integrate the ScreenBar Halo into my lighting automation, turning it off automatically when I leave the room.\nThe ScreenBar Halo’s backlight.\nAnother big difference from earlier models is that the ScreenBar Halo has a light on the rear of the device that’s built into the counterweight and allows the device to sit securely on the top of your display. It’s not an especially bright light, but I’ve found that the soft backlighting that the ScreenBar Halo provides looks nice.\nThe ScreenBar Halo’s dial lights up briefly when you interact with it.\nBoth the backlight and desk light, which is notably a little wider than the older version I was using, are controlled via the dial that communicates wirelessly over Bluetooth with the ScreenBar Halo. The surface of the dial is touch-sensitive, with an on/off button in the center that’s surrounded by buttons to control the temperature of the light and its brightness, a heart button that allows you to save a favorite configuration, a mode button for turning on different combinations of the front and back lights, and a button that automatically adjusts the brightness of the ScreenBar Halo based on your room’s ambient lighting. The dial also rotates, so you can adjust the light’s temperature or brightness.\nThe ScreenBar Halo can be tuned to a nice range of temperatures. Source: BenQ.\nI’ve been using the ScreenBar Halo for nearly a week, and already, it’s a big improvement over the prior model. The wider light bar provides better desktop illumination, and the subtle backlighting looks good, but the real key to the device is the wireless controller. The elimination of that single cable cuts down on clutter and gives you more options when placing the controller on your desk.\nAside from my complaints about the device’s undetachable USB-A cable above, the biggest downside of the ScreenBar Halo, which I’d like to see BenQ solve in a future design, is that the front of the light’s mount blocks my Studio Display’s camera. That isn’t a deal breaker for me because I don’t do a lot of video calling on my Mac, but if you do, there aren’t a lot of great choices other than sliding the light to the side for calls, which could get old fast. A notch in the center of the mount would probably solve the problem for most displays with built-in cameras, but for whatever reason, that hasn’t been done.\nSource: BenQ.\nStill, the BenQ ScreenBar Halo has been a nice addition to my desk setup. It allows me to dial in exactly the amount of light I want and where I want it, with fewer wires than before and the bonus of a little backlighting behind my display.\nThe ScreenBar Halo is available directly from BenQ for $179 and can also be purchased from Amazon.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-18T09:12:13-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-18T10:32:28-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "mac", "reviews" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73938", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/whats-next-for-apple-and-epics-legal-disputes/", "title": "What\u2019s Next for Apple and Epic\u2019s Legal Disputes?", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court told Epic Games and Apple, “No, thank you,” and Apple served up an ugly alert to developers who can now offer payment options outside the App Store. If you’re thinking, “Wait, didn’t this all get resolved ages ago?” I feel you. The legal system moves at its own pace, which is an order of magnitude slower than technology. However, what might feel like a lifetime ago to many MacStories readers is pretty typical. It also means that it’s time to put on my ‘former lawyer’ hat for a moment to revisit where things stand with Epic and Apple and consider what’s next.

\n

\n
\"Still

Still from a video released by Epic jabbing Apple for its control over the App Store.

\n

This whole mess started in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic when Epic Games decided to manufacture a dispute with Apple by sneaking a store for purchasing Fortnite in-game currency into the mobile versions of that game. Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, Epic sued, claiming antitrust violations, Apple countersued for violations of its developer agreements, and the rest has unfolded over the course of over three years.

\n

The case was tried in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. She decided the case about a year later, ruling that Apple wasn’t a monopoly but used a California state anti-steering law that gives judges wide latitude to fashion remedies to order that Apple cannot prevent developers from linking to external payment options in their apps. As a result, neither party was totally happy with the ruling, although Apple clearly came out of the trial with a bigger win than Epic did.

\n

Epic’s Tim Sweeney vowed to appeal, which he did, as did Apple. As I said at the time:

\n

\n I doubt Epic will prevail on appeal. Antitrust cases turn first and foremost on the trial court’s determination of the facts, and in an appeal, the trial judge’s findings of fact are given more deference than their legal conclusions. That’s because the trial judge was in the room with witnesses and, therefore, is assumed to be the best arbiter of what the evidence at trial demonstrated.\n

\n

Judge Gonzalez Rodgers is no dummy. She knew there would be an appeal and crafted a decision designed to be as bullet-proof as possible on appeal.

\n

As I expected at the time, the judge’s decision withstood both parties’ appeals. Earlier this year, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision, which set the stage for the US Supreme Court’s actions yesterday.

\n

Appealing to the US Supreme Court is a little different than the initial appeal of Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ decision because the Supreme Court doesn’t have to accept the appeal. In fact, the vast majority of appeals to the Supreme Court are rejected. When that happens, the decisions of the courts below it stand, and the decision of the trial court becomes final.

\n

That’s what happened here. Epic and Apple were both unhappy with Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ decision. So both appealed, the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision, and the Supreme Court effectively said, “Go away. Don’t bother us with this.”

\n

That’s not the same as the Supreme Court ruling against either party, as I’ve seen reported in some places. In fact, it’s the opposite of a ruling. The Supreme Court decided not to decide. That’s significant because it carries no weight as legal precedent. Had the Supreme Court ruled, the decision would have been binding on all other US federal courts. As it stands, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision is binding precedent for the federal courts in that district only. That’s it. Parties can argue about the issues decided by the District Court and the Ninth Circuit in other districts, but they aren’t binding on those courts.

\n

So it’s over, right? Well, sort of. Judge Gonzalez Rodgers can sleep well knowing her decision won’t be second-guessed, but as we’ve already seen from the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s non-decision, legal battles between big companies that don’t like each other and have a lot of money never really end.

\n
\"Apple's

Apple’s new warning for developers who want to link to external payment systems.

\n

Epic’s Tim Sweeney immediately proclaimed that Epic Games would contest Apple’s “bad-faith compliance plan.” Epic can do that because all Judge Gonzalez Rodgers decided was that Apple had violated California’s anti-steering law. Apple has responded by revising its app distribution rules. Developers have to request a StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement and use a somewhat scary and unsightly disclosure sheet warning users of the risks of buying things on the Internet. Going this route will only save developers 3% on Apple’s App Store commission, which I expect won’t be enough for many developers to bother with. Epic and Sweeney have additional issues with Apple’s implementation, which Sweeney detailed in a statement to 9to5Mac. So now, the fight is over whether what Apple has done is sufficient to steer clear of California’s anti-steering law.

\n

For its part, Apple says Epic owes it $73 million in legal fees it spent fighting with Epic. I have no doubt that Apple’s developer agreements provide for this sort of reimbursement and that Epic will fight it.

\n

So, what have we learned from the past few years? The main takeaway is that it’s clear that Apple isn’t going to change the way it runs the App Store without a legal fight or government regulation. Its strategy is to fight and lobby, make incremental changes at the margin, rinse, and repeat. I expect we’ll see something similar play out with side-loading by March 7th, which is the deadline for Apple and other companies to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Yesterday, the US Supreme Court told Epic Games and Apple, “No, thank you,” and Apple served up an ugly alert to developers who can now offer payment options outside the App Store. If you’re thinking, “Wait, didn’t this all get resolved ages ago?” I feel you. The legal system moves at its own pace, which is an order of magnitude slower than technology. However, what might feel like a lifetime ago to many MacStories readers is pretty typical. It also means that it’s time to put on my ‘former lawyer’ hat for a moment to revisit where things stand with Epic and Apple and consider what’s next.\n\nStill from a video released by Epic jabbing Apple for its control over the App Store.\nThis whole mess started in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic when Epic Games decided to manufacture a dispute with Apple by sneaking a store for purchasing Fortnite in-game currency into the mobile versions of that game. Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, Epic sued, claiming antitrust violations, Apple countersued for violations of its developer agreements, and the rest has unfolded over the course of over three years.\nThe case was tried in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. She decided the case about a year later, ruling that Apple wasn’t a monopoly but used a California state anti-steering law that gives judges wide latitude to fashion remedies to order that Apple cannot prevent developers from linking to external payment options in their apps. As a result, neither party was totally happy with the ruling, although Apple clearly came out of the trial with a bigger win than Epic did.\nEpic’s Tim Sweeney vowed to appeal, which he did, as did Apple. As I said at the time:\n\n I doubt Epic will prevail on appeal. Antitrust cases turn first and foremost on the trial court’s determination of the facts, and in an appeal, the trial judge’s findings of fact are given more deference than their legal conclusions. That’s because the trial judge was in the room with witnesses and, therefore, is assumed to be the best arbiter of what the evidence at trial demonstrated.\n\nJudge Gonzalez Rodgers is no dummy. She knew there would be an appeal and crafted a decision designed to be as bullet-proof as possible on appeal.\nAs I expected at the time, the judge’s decision withstood both parties’ appeals. Earlier this year, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision, which set the stage for the US Supreme Court’s actions yesterday.\nAppealing to the US Supreme Court is a little different than the initial appeal of Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ decision because the Supreme Court doesn’t have to accept the appeal. In fact, the vast majority of appeals to the Supreme Court are rejected. When that happens, the decisions of the courts below it stand, and the decision of the trial court becomes final.\nThat’s what happened here. Epic and Apple were both unhappy with Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ decision. So both appealed, the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision, and the Supreme Court effectively said, “Go away. Don’t bother us with this.”\nThat’s not the same as the Supreme Court ruling against either party, as I’ve seen reported in some places. In fact, it’s the opposite of a ruling. The Supreme Court decided not to decide. That’s significant because it carries no weight as legal precedent. Had the Supreme Court ruled, the decision would have been binding on all other US federal courts. As it stands, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision is binding precedent for the federal courts in that district only. That’s it. Parties can argue about the issues decided by the District Court and the Ninth Circuit in other districts, but they aren’t binding on those courts.\nSo it’s over, right? Well, sort of. Judge Gonzalez Rodgers can sleep well knowing her decision won’t be second-guessed, but as we’ve already seen from the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s non-decision, legal battles between big companies that don’t like each other and have a lot of money never really end.\nApple’s new warning for developers who want to link to external payment systems.\nEpic’s Tim Sweeney immediately proclaimed that Epic Games would contest Apple’s “bad-faith compliance plan.” Epic can do that because all Judge Gonzalez Rodgers decided was that Apple had violated California’s anti-steering law. Apple has responded by revising its app distribution rules. Developers have to request a StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement and use a somewhat scary and unsightly disclosure sheet warning users of the risks of buying things on the Internet. Going this route will only save developers 3% on Apple’s App Store commission, which I expect won’t be enough for many developers to bother with. Epic and Sweeney have additional issues with Apple’s implementation, which Sweeney detailed in a statement to 9to5Mac. So now, the fight is over whether what Apple has done is sufficient to steer clear of California’s anti-steering law.\nFor its part, Apple says Epic owes it $73 million in legal fees it spent fighting with Epic. I have no doubt that Apple’s developer agreements provide for this sort of reimbursement and that Epic will fight it.\nSo, what have we learned from the past few years? The main takeaway is that it’s clear that Apple isn’t going to change the way it runs the App Store without a legal fight or government regulation. Its strategy is to fight and lobby, make incremental changes at the margin, rinse, and repeat. I expect we’ll see something similar play out with side-loading by March 7th, which is the deadline for Apple and other companies to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-17T10:20:35-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-17T10:22:12-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "antitrust", "Legal", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73930", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/screenfloat-2-0-floating-reference-screenshots-and-management-from-the-macs-menu-bar/", "title": "ScreenFloat 2.0: Floating Reference Screenshots and Management from the Mac\u2019s Menu Bar", "content_html": "
\"ScreenFloat

ScreenFloat 2.0.

\n

ScreenFloat 2.0 is a Mac-only screenshot utility from Matthias Gansrigler of Eternal Storms Software. As Gansrigler explains, the app is like Picture-in-Picture for screenshots, allowing you to float screenshots or screen recordings above other windows to use as reference material on your Mac. That’s a great explanation of one of the core use cases for ScreenFloat 2.0, but the update opens up exciting new possibilities that go even further, which I think anyone who works with screenshots will like a lot.

\n

\n
\"Activating

Activating ScreenFloat from the Mac menu bar.

\n

At its heart, ScreenFloat is a menu bar utility that patiently sits in your menu bar, waiting to be called into service with a keyboard shortcut. If you’ve used screenshot utilities before, that’s how many of them work, and, like other screenshot apps, ScreenFloat can take screenshots of a user-defined part of the screen, a window, or the entire screen. The app can also take screen recordings and timed shots.

\n
\"A

A subtle toolbar sits at the top of your floating screenshot windows.

\n

Once a screenshot or recording has been made, by default, it opens in a separate floating window that’s a 1:1 mirror of the shot you took. When you hover your pointer over the screenshot, a translucent toolbar appears at the top of its window. From here, you can close the screenshot. Alternatively, you can add a title, star rating, tags, and notes, all of which are powerful tools for organizing and revisiting your images later.

\n
\"You

You can use ScreenFloat’s toolbar to add a title, tags, notes, and a rating to each image.

\n

On the right side of the toolbar is a document icon with export options and a gear icon packed with other actions. The export icon allows you to save your screenshot in five formats to a default location, drag it elsewhere, copy the file, and open or share it with other apps. Those file options come along with additional settings for preserving the alpha channel, saving metadata along with the image, including annotations with your export, resizing the image, and more. That’s a lot, and it’s exactly the sort of flexibility I love in a utility like this because it means ScreenFloat can adapt to a wide variety of workflows.

\n
\"The

The export menu.

\n

For its part, the gear icon in the toolbar collects a long list of actions that are divided into four categories:

\n

Share includes some of the same options as the export tool, allowing screenshots to be copied, exported, printed, and shared with other apps. There’s also an option to detect data, including text, faces, and barcodes, which allows text to be copied or redacted and faces and barcodes to be blurred out, a fantastic use of macOS’s built-in data detection technology.

\n
\"ScreenFloat's

ScreenFloat’s extensive collection of actions.

\n

The Edit section provides tools for editing metadata and annotating images in a wide variety of ways by adding text, bulleted lists, shapes, arrows, lines, and more. All of these edits are non-destructive, meaning you can add them for reference purposes but still retrieve an unedited version of the screenshot later. This is an excellent addition for anyone who wants to mark up an image to highlight some aspect of it but preserve the ability to use a clean version in the future.

\n

The Organize section has options for marking screenshots as favorites, rating them, moving them to folders, opening the Shots Browser, and accessing the app’s Settings. Of these options, the Shots Browser is easily my favorite because it extends ScreenFloat from a simple floating screenshot reference tool to a dedicated screenshot organization app.

\n
\"The

The Shots Browser is my favorite ScreenFloat feature.

\n

The Shots Browser opens in a separate window from any floating screenshots and is divided into three sections. On the left is a library navigation panel. On the right is an info panel with details about the selected screenshot. In the center are resizable thumbnails of each screenshot, with some basic data about each. Tools for sharing, editing, and organizing your screenshots are available from the Shots Browser’s toolbar or by right-clicking on any screenshot.

\n
\"ScreenFloat

ScreenFloat includes an excellent collection of Shortcuts actions.

\n

Returning to the screenshot window’s toolbar to complete our ScreenFloat tour, there’s also a Visibility section that has tools that control whether a screenshot floats, which of your Mac’s Spaces it appears in, and whether mouse clicks on the screenshot should be ignored. Finally, it’s worth noting that ScreenFloat incorporates keyboard shortcuts throughout the app, includes detailed settings to finely tune the app to your personal tastes, and supports Shortcuts actions for capturing screenshots, importing images, and hiding, unhiding and closing floating screenshots, and offers widgets.

\n
\"Tip:

Tip: Scroll vertically on a floating screenshot to reveal what’s underneath.

.

\n

A good example of how you can tune ScreenFloat to your personal needs is the way I’ve been using it. I don’t often need to float screenshots above my other windows for reference purposes. However, I do take and annotate a lot of screenshots, and organizing them can be cumbersome in the Finder. The first thing I did with ScreenFloat was to turn off the default behavior that floats screenshots on top of other windows. It’s a small change, but it allows me to take a bunch of screenshots for a story like this one and then pop open the Shots Browser when I’m ready to organize and annotate them. That’s not something I need for every project, but a big one like my annual macOS review, where I take hundreds of screenshots over many weeks, is perfect for the sort of non-destructive annotation, tagging, and other organizational tools that ScreenFloat provides.

\n
\"Annotating

Annotating a screenshot.

\n

The only thing about ScreenFloat that I’d change is that it doesn’t appear in the Dock or when Command-Tabbing. I use Command-Tab constantly to move between apps, and without it, the Shots Browser can get lost among my windows. This isn’t the end of the world because I can always summon it with a keyboard shortcut, but it breaks a longstanding personal habit that’s been hard to adjust to.

\n

That said, ScreenFloat 2.0 is an excellent update that’s packed with loads of useful, flexible features. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into the app’s feature set in the year and a half that it’s been in development.

\n

ScreenFloat 2.0 is available on the Mac App Store for free to existing users and at an introductory price of $6.99 for new users. There is also a 28-day free trial available directly from Eternal Storms Software.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "ScreenFloat 2.0.\nScreenFloat 2.0 is a Mac-only screenshot utility from Matthias Gansrigler of Eternal Storms Software. As Gansrigler explains, the app is like Picture-in-Picture for screenshots, allowing you to float screenshots or screen recordings above other windows to use as reference material on your Mac. That’s a great explanation of one of the core use cases for ScreenFloat 2.0, but the update opens up exciting new possibilities that go even further, which I think anyone who works with screenshots will like a lot.\n\nActivating ScreenFloat from the Mac menu bar.\nAt its heart, ScreenFloat is a menu bar utility that patiently sits in your menu bar, waiting to be called into service with a keyboard shortcut. If you’ve used screenshot utilities before, that’s how many of them work, and, like other screenshot apps, ScreenFloat can take screenshots of a user-defined part of the screen, a window, or the entire screen. The app can also take screen recordings and timed shots.\nA subtle toolbar sits at the top of your floating screenshot windows.\nOnce a screenshot or recording has been made, by default, it opens in a separate floating window that’s a 1:1 mirror of the shot you took. When you hover your pointer over the screenshot, a translucent toolbar appears at the top of its window. From here, you can close the screenshot. Alternatively, you can add a title, star rating, tags, and notes, all of which are powerful tools for organizing and revisiting your images later.\nYou can use ScreenFloat’s toolbar to add a title, tags, notes, and a rating to each image.\nOn the right side of the toolbar is a document icon with export options and a gear icon packed with other actions. The export icon allows you to save your screenshot in five formats to a default location, drag it elsewhere, copy the file, and open or share it with other apps. Those file options come along with additional settings for preserving the alpha channel, saving metadata along with the image, including annotations with your export, resizing the image, and more. That’s a lot, and it’s exactly the sort of flexibility I love in a utility like this because it means ScreenFloat can adapt to a wide variety of workflows.\nThe export menu.\nFor its part, the gear icon in the toolbar collects a long list of actions that are divided into four categories:\nShare\nEdit\nOrganize\nVisibility\nShare includes some of the same options as the export tool, allowing screenshots to be copied, exported, printed, and shared with other apps. There’s also an option to detect data, including text, faces, and barcodes, which allows text to be copied or redacted and faces and barcodes to be blurred out, a fantastic use of macOS’s built-in data detection technology.\nScreenFloat’s extensive collection of actions.\nThe Edit section provides tools for editing metadata and annotating images in a wide variety of ways by adding text, bulleted lists, shapes, arrows, lines, and more. All of these edits are non-destructive, meaning you can add them for reference purposes but still retrieve an unedited version of the screenshot later. This is an excellent addition for anyone who wants to mark up an image to highlight some aspect of it but preserve the ability to use a clean version in the future.\nThe Organize section has options for marking screenshots as favorites, rating them, moving them to folders, opening the Shots Browser, and accessing the app’s Settings. Of these options, the Shots Browser is easily my favorite because it extends ScreenFloat from a simple floating screenshot reference tool to a dedicated screenshot organization app.\nThe Shots Browser is my favorite ScreenFloat feature.\nThe Shots Browser opens in a separate window from any floating screenshots and is divided into three sections. On the left is a library navigation panel. On the right is an info panel with details about the selected screenshot. In the center are resizable thumbnails of each screenshot, with some basic data about each. Tools for sharing, editing, and organizing your screenshots are available from the Shots Browser’s toolbar or by right-clicking on any screenshot.\nScreenFloat includes an excellent collection of Shortcuts actions.\nReturning to the screenshot window’s toolbar to complete our ScreenFloat tour, there’s also a Visibility section that has tools that control whether a screenshot floats, which of your Mac’s Spaces it appears in, and whether mouse clicks on the screenshot should be ignored. Finally, it’s worth noting that ScreenFloat incorporates keyboard shortcuts throughout the app, includes detailed settings to finely tune the app to your personal tastes, and supports Shortcuts actions for capturing screenshots, importing images, and hiding, unhiding and closing floating screenshots, and offers widgets.\nTip: Scroll vertically on a floating screenshot to reveal what’s underneath..\nA good example of how you can tune ScreenFloat to your personal needs is the way I’ve been using it. I don’t often need to float screenshots above my other windows for reference purposes. However, I do take and annotate a lot of screenshots, and organizing them can be cumbersome in the Finder. The first thing I did with ScreenFloat was to turn off the default behavior that floats screenshots on top of other windows. It’s a small change, but it allows me to take a bunch of screenshots for a story like this one and then pop open the Shots Browser when I’m ready to organize and annotate them. That’s not something I need for every project, but a big one like my annual macOS review, where I take hundreds of screenshots over many weeks, is perfect for the sort of non-destructive annotation, tagging, and other organizational tools that ScreenFloat provides.\nAnnotating a screenshot.\nThe only thing about ScreenFloat that I’d change is that it doesn’t appear in the Dock or when Command-Tabbing. I use Command-Tab constantly to move between apps, and without it, the Shots Browser can get lost among my windows. This isn’t the end of the world because I can always summon it with a keyboard shortcut, but it breaks a longstanding personal habit that’s been hard to adjust to.\nThat said, ScreenFloat 2.0 is an excellent update that’s packed with loads of useful, flexible features. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into the app’s feature set in the year and a half that it’s been in development.\nScreenFloat 2.0 is available on the Mac App Store for free to existing users and at an introductory price of $6.99 for new users. There is also a 28-day free trial available directly from Eternal Storms Software.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-17T08:50:39-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-17T14:26:56-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "apps", "macOS", "utility", "reviews" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73924", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/new-apple-vision-pro-hands-on-accounts-from-engadget-and-the-verge/", "title": "New Apple Vision Pro Hands-On Accounts From Engadget and The Verge", "content_html": "

Today’s announcement by Apple about the entertainment aspects of the Vision Pro was followed up by new hands-on stories from Engadget and The Verge. A lot of what they saw was similar to the WWDC demos, but there were some new highlights, including additional Environments, a beta of the Disney+ app, Apple’s Encounter Dinosaurs app, and the Vision Pro’s floating keyboard.

\n

One of the big open questions about the Apple Vision Pro is how well its virtual keyboard works. Interestingly, Engadget’s Cherlynn Low and Dana Wollman had very different experiences with it:

\n

\n Cherlynn: It’s not as easy as typing on an actual keyboard would be, but I was quite tickled by the fact that it worked. Kudos to Apple’s eye- and hand-tracking systems, because they were able to detect what I was looking at or aiming for most of the time. My main issue with the keyboard was that it felt a little too far away and I needed to stretch if I wanted to press the buttons myself….

\n

Dana: This was one of the more frustrating aspects of the demo for me. Although there were several typing options – hunting and pecking with your fingers, using eye control to select keys, or just using Siri – none of them felt adequate for anything resembling extended use. It took several tries for me to even spell Engadget correctly in the Safari demo.\n

\n

Engadget’s editors were also impressed with the Disney+ Avengers and Star Wars-themed environments.

\n

The Verge’s Victoria Song and Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel also spent some time with the Apple Vision Pro. According to Song’s story:

\n

\n Nilay had shot some spatial videos where he’d intentionally moved the camera to follow his kid around the zoo and felt some familiar VR motion queasiness. Apple says it’s doing everything it can to reduce that, but it’s clear some shots will work better in spatial than others — like any other camera system, really.\n

\n

Song describes the experience of seeing EyeSight demoed, too:

\n

\n So we got to see a demo of EyeSight — what an onlooker would see on that front display when looking at someone wearing the Vision Pro. It’s a bit goofy, but you can see the wearer’s eyes, part of what Apple calls a “persona.” (We were not able to set up our own personas, sadly.) When Apple’s Vision Pro demo person blinked, we saw a virtual version of their eyes blink. When they were looking at an app, a bluish light appeared to indicate their attention was elsewhere. And when they went into a full virtual environment, the screen turned into an opaque shimmer. If you started talking to them while they were watching a movie, their virtual ghost eyes would appear before you. And when they took a spatial photo, you’d see the screen flash like a shutter.\n

\n

What’s clear is that it’s one thing to read about these experiences with the Vision Pro and a completely different thing to live them. After reading several accounts, I still don’t know what to expect myself, except in the broadest sense. That’s both a little frustrating but also very exciting.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Today’s announcement by Apple about the entertainment aspects of the Vision Pro was followed up by new hands-on stories from Engadget and The Verge. A lot of what they saw was similar to the WWDC demos, but there were some new highlights, including additional Environments, a beta of the Disney+ app, Apple’s Encounter Dinosaurs app, and the Vision Pro’s floating keyboard.\nOne of the big open questions about the Apple Vision Pro is how well its virtual keyboard works. Interestingly, Engadget’s Cherlynn Low and Dana Wollman had very different experiences with it:\n\n Cherlynn: It’s not as easy as typing on an actual keyboard would be, but I was quite tickled by the fact that it worked. Kudos to Apple’s eye- and hand-tracking systems, because they were able to detect what I was looking at or aiming for most of the time. My main issue with the keyboard was that it felt a little too far away and I needed to stretch if I wanted to press the buttons myself….\n Dana: This was one of the more frustrating aspects of the demo for me. Although there were several typing options – hunting and pecking with your fingers, using eye control to select keys, or just using Siri – none of them felt adequate for anything resembling extended use. It took several tries for me to even spell Engadget correctly in the Safari demo.\n\nEngadget’s editors were also impressed with the Disney+ Avengers and Star Wars-themed environments.\nThe Verge’s Victoria Song and Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel also spent some time with the Apple Vision Pro. According to Song’s story:\n\n Nilay had shot some spatial videos where he’d intentionally moved the camera to follow his kid around the zoo and felt some familiar VR motion queasiness. Apple says it’s doing everything it can to reduce that, but it’s clear some shots will work better in spatial than others — like any other camera system, really.\n\nSong describes the experience of seeing EyeSight demoed, too:\n\n So we got to see a demo of EyeSight — what an onlooker would see on that front display when looking at someone wearing the Vision Pro. It’s a bit goofy, but you can see the wearer’s eyes, part of what Apple calls a “persona.” (We were not able to set up our own personas, sadly.) When Apple’s Vision Pro demo person blinked, we saw a virtual version of their eyes blink. When they were looking at an app, a bluish light appeared to indicate their attention was elsewhere. And when they went into a full virtual environment, the screen turned into an opaque shimmer. If you started talking to them while they were watching a movie, their virtual ghost eyes would appear before you. And when they took a spatial photo, you’d see the screen flash like a shutter.\n\nWhat’s clear is that it’s one thing to read about these experiences with the Vision Pro and a completely different thing to live them. After reading several accounts, I still don’t know what to expect myself, except in the broadest sense. That’s both a little frustrating but also very exciting.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-16T14:22:20-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-16T14:22:20-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Vision Pro", "visionOS", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73919", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-details-vision-pros-launch-day-entertainment-options/", "title": "Apple Details Vision Pro\u2019s Launch Day Entertainment Options", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Apple has revealed new information about the entertainment that will be available when Vision Pro launches on February 2nd.

\n

One of the highlights will be 3D movies. There will be more than 150 3D movies available, including Avatar: The Way of Water, Dune, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, all of which can be watched from a simulated personal theater environment or immersive Environments, including Yosemite, Haleakalā, and Mount Hood. Also, Apple Vision Pro users who already own a movie for which a 3D version becomes available will have access to it at no additional cost. Apple says streamers like Disney+ will offer 3D movies as part of their services, too.

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Those same streaming services will also offer other unique experiences. For example:

\n

\n With Disney+, subscribers can watch thousands of TV shows and films from four iconic environments with vivid details: the Disney+ Theater, inspired by the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood; the Scare Floor from Pixar’s Monsters Inc.; Marvel’s Avengers Tower overlooking downtown Manhattan; and the cockpit of Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder, facing a binary sunset on the planet Tatooine from the Star Wars galaxy.\n

\n

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Apple’s TV app will have Apple Immersive Video, a new 180-degree, 3D 8K format with Spatial Audio. At launch, there will be four titles available at no added cost:

\n
\n
\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Apple is releasing a new free app with the Vision Pro called Encounter Dinosaurs, too:

\n

\n With Encounter Dinosaurs, a new free app developed by Apple that ships with Vision Pro, users can peer into the Cretaceous, a period more than 66 million years old, where dinosaurs roamed the earth and Mother Nature reigned supreme. Executive produced by Jon Favreau and inspired by his award-winning work with Prehistoric Planet, Encounter Dinosaurs makes it possible for users to interact with giant, three-dimensional reptiles as if they are bursting through their own physical space.\n

\n

I’m eager to try Apple Immersive Video and see what it’s like to enjoy a 3D movie in one of the Vision Pro’s Environments. Although technologies like 3D TVs were a flop, I expect the immersive nature of the Apple Vision Pro to add more to the experience than ever before. Hopefully, I’ll have a better idea of just how much more the Apple Vision Pro adds to the experience in just over two weeks.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nApple has revealed new information about the entertainment that will be available when Vision Pro launches on February 2nd.\nOne of the highlights will be 3D movies. There will be more than 150 3D movies available, including Avatar: The Way of Water, Dune, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, all of which can be watched from a simulated personal theater environment or immersive Environments, including Yosemite, Haleakalā, and Mount Hood. Also, Apple Vision Pro users who already own a movie for which a 3D version becomes available will have access to it at no additional cost. Apple says streamers like Disney+ will offer 3D movies as part of their services, too.\nSource: Apple.\nThose same streaming services will also offer other unique experiences. For example:\n\n With Disney+, subscribers can watch thousands of TV shows and films from four iconic environments with vivid details: the Disney+ Theater, inspired by the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood; the Scare Floor from Pixar’s Monsters Inc.; Marvel’s Avengers Tower overlooking downtown Manhattan; and the cockpit of Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder, facing a binary sunset on the planet Tatooine from the Star Wars galaxy.\n\n\nSource: Apple.\nApple’s TV app will have Apple Immersive Video, a new 180-degree, 3D 8K format with Spatial Audio. At launch, there will be four titles available at no added cost:\n\nAlicia Keys: Rehearsal Room offers a rare glimpse into the Grammy winner’s creative process with this intimate rehearsal session featuring renditions of her hits “No One,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” and “You Don’t Know My Name.” Users can also access these performances as a special EP exclusively on Apple Music when it debuts.\n\n\nAdventure follows pioneering athletes as they take on awe-inspiring challenges in some of the world’s most sensational locations. In the first episode, Highlining, viewers step into thin air with highliner Faith Dickey as she takes on her biggest challenge yet: a daring traverse 3,000 feet above Norway’s breathtaking fjords.\n\n\nWild Life takes viewers up close and personal with some of the most charismatic creatures on the planet to uncover what makes them unique, featuring the experts who know them best. The first episode brings viewers into the world’s largest rhinoceros sanctuary where a former police captain has dedicated her life to rescuing, raising, and rewilding these gentle giants.\n\n\nPrehistoric Planet Immersive: The award-winning Apple Original docuseries from Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth returns with an immersive film that transports viewers into the daily lives of dinosaurs, and follows the struggles and triumphs of these majestic animals amid spectacular scenery. Prehistoric Planet Immersive whisks viewers along a rugged ocean coast where a pterosaur colony settles in for an afternoon nap, which proves to be anything but restful.\n\n\nSource: Apple.\nApple is releasing a new free app with the Vision Pro called Encounter Dinosaurs, too:\n\n With Encounter Dinosaurs, a new free app developed by Apple that ships with Vision Pro, users can peer into the Cretaceous, a period more than 66 million years old, where dinosaurs roamed the earth and Mother Nature reigned supreme. Executive produced by Jon Favreau and inspired by his award-winning work with Prehistoric Planet, Encounter Dinosaurs makes it possible for users to interact with giant, three-dimensional reptiles as if they are bursting through their own physical space.\n\nI’m eager to try Apple Immersive Video and see what it’s like to enjoy a 3D movie in one of the Vision Pro’s Environments. Although technologies like 3D TVs were a flop, I expect the immersive nature of the Apple Vision Pro to add more to the experience than ever before. Hopefully, I’ll have a better idea of just how much more the Apple Vision Pro adds to the experience in just over two weeks.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-16T11:16:21-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-16T11:17:33-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Apple TV Plus", "Vision Pro", "visionOS", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73916", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/tom-coates-on-integrating-threads-with-the-fediverse/", "title": "Tom Coates on Integrating Threads with the Fediverse", "content_html": "

Just before the holidays, Meta held a meeting at its San Francisco offices with members from the fediverse community about its plans to use ActivityPub to integrate Threads with Mastodon. Last week, Tom Coates wrote a detailed post about everything covered during the meeting from Meta’s roadmap for Threads to Meta’s motivations, content moderation, and Threads’ algorithm, which is lengthy but well worth reading in its entirety.

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Coates described Threads’ roadmap as follows:

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The schedule struck Coates as both optimistic given the complexities involved and likely to be controversial because the early stages are lopsided in favor of integrating Threads into Mastodon and not the other way around. As Coates explains, there are technical, legal, and regulatory reasons for that, but that won’t make it any less contentious.

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Scale is quite literally another huge problem for Meta that could easily lead to unintended consequences that cause problems for Mastodon users no matter what Meta’s intentions are. As Coates explains:

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\n The community that Threads is planning to participate in is that of Mastodon servers federating with one another via Activity Pub. The estimates of this community are that there are about 9,500 separate mastodon instances participating in this ecology, with roughly 1.5 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs). This is a fairly substantial number but of course it pales in comparison to Meta more generally, which has closer to three billion active users. Or to put it another way, Mastodon users represent about 1/2000th of the number of people using Facebook/Instagram/Threads/WhatsApp etc. worldwide.

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Threads itself has only been around for a few months now and it still towers over the rest of the Mastodon community in terms of users. It’s based on the Instagram user base, and Instagram users can opt in to use Threads with a single tap. Because of that—as of a recent earnings report—Meta can currently claim around 160 million total users and about 100 million MAUs for Threads alone. So, again, maybe we shouldn’t be thinking about Threads ‘integrating’ with the fediverse and instead think about Threads attempting to engage with the Fediverse without entirely crushing it in the process.\n

\n

The entire post is worth reading because it explores interesting ways to deal with distributed content moderation, identity, public education about federation, and all the other large-scale problems that Threads will bring with it into the fediverse by virtue of its size and commercial goals as an ad-funded company. None of these issues will be easy to solve, and the meeting happened before an upturn in objectionable content served by the Threads algorithm to many users. However, I’m still encouraged by Coates’ overall reaction to the meeting and the teams at Meta who are working on integrating Threads with the Fediverse:

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\n But I can report that in my opinion the teams building it and the integration seem to be decent people, trying to build something they’re excited by, wanting to be part of something new and truly federated, and wanting to be respectful and careful about how they do it. And whether or not you think their arrival in the space is a good thing, that apparent good faith and care has mitigated at least some of my concerns.\n

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\u2192 Source: plasticbag.org

", "content_text": "Just before the holidays, Meta held a meeting at its San Francisco offices with members from the fediverse community about its plans to use ActivityPub to integrate Threads with Mastodon. Last week, Tom Coates wrote a detailed post about everything covered during the meeting from Meta’s roadmap for Threads to Meta’s motivations, content moderation, and Threads’ algorithm, which is lengthy but well worth reading in its entirety.\nCoates described Threads’ roadmap as follows:\n\nDecember 2023 – A user will be able to opt in via the Threads app to have their posts visible to Mastodon clients. People would be able to reply and like those posts using their Mastodon clients, but those replies and likes would not be visible within the Threads application. Threads users would not be able to follow or see posts published across Mastodon servers, or reply to them or like then.\n\n\nEarly 2024 (Part One) – the Like counts on the Threads app would combine likes from Mastodon and Threads users\n\n\nEarly 2024 (Part Two) – replies posted on Mastodon servers would be visible in the Threads application\n\n\nLate 2024 – A “mixed” Fediverse and Threads experience where you will be able to follow Mastodon users within Threads, and reply to them and like them\n\n\nTBD – Full blended interoperability between Threads and Mastodon\n\n\nThe schedule struck Coates as both optimistic given the complexities involved and likely to be controversial because the early stages are lopsided in favor of integrating Threads into Mastodon and not the other way around. As Coates explains, there are technical, legal, and regulatory reasons for that, but that won’t make it any less contentious.\nScale is quite literally another huge problem for Meta that could easily lead to unintended consequences that cause problems for Mastodon users no matter what Meta’s intentions are. As Coates explains:\n\n The community that Threads is planning to participate in is that of Mastodon servers federating with one another via Activity Pub. The estimates of this community are that there are about 9,500 separate mastodon instances participating in this ecology, with roughly 1.5 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs). This is a fairly substantial number but of course it pales in comparison to Meta more generally, which has closer to three billion active users. Or to put it another way, Mastodon users represent about 1/2000th of the number of people using Facebook/Instagram/Threads/WhatsApp etc. worldwide.\n Threads itself has only been around for a few months now and it still towers over the rest of the Mastodon community in terms of users. It’s based on the Instagram user base, and Instagram users can opt in to use Threads with a single tap. Because of that—as of a recent earnings report—Meta can currently claim around 160 million total users and about 100 million MAUs for Threads alone. So, again, maybe we shouldn’t be thinking about Threads ‘integrating’ with the fediverse and instead think about Threads attempting to engage with the Fediverse without entirely crushing it in the process.\n\nThe entire post is worth reading because it explores interesting ways to deal with distributed content moderation, identity, public education about federation, and all the other large-scale problems that Threads will bring with it into the fediverse by virtue of its size and commercial goals as an ad-funded company. None of these issues will be easy to solve, and the meeting happened before an upturn in objectionable content served by the Threads algorithm to many users. However, I’m still encouraged by Coates’ overall reaction to the meeting and the teams at Meta who are working on integrating Threads with the Fediverse:\n\n But I can report that in my opinion the teams building it and the integration seem to be decent people, trying to build something they’re excited by, wanting to be part of something new and truly federated, and wanting to be respectful and careful about how they do it. And whether or not you think their arrival in the space is a good thing, that apparent good faith and care has mitigated at least some of my concerns.\n\n\u2192 Source: plasticbag.org", "date_published": "2024-01-15T17:13:57-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-15T17:13:57-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Fediverse", "mastodon", "Social Media", "threads", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73892", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/appstories-episode-366-magic-rays-of-light-joins-macstories-plus-our-favorite-media-tracking-apps/", "title": "AppStories, Episode 366 \u2013 Magic Rays of Light Joins MacStories, Plus Our Favorite Media Tracking Apps", "content_html": "

This week on AppStories, we are joined by Sigmund Judge and Devon Dundee, the hosts of Magic Rays of Light, a weekly show that explores the world of Apple TV and Apple Arcade, which has joined MacStories, to discuss the show’s move to MacStories as well as tvOS and the apps we use to track media.

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Sponsored by:

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Subscribe here.

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On AppStories+, Federico shares tips on how he’s worked around some of the limitations of Apple Podcasts’ queueing system.

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We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

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To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

\n

\u2192 Source: appstories.net

", "content_text": "This week on AppStories, we are joined by Sigmund Judge and Devon Dundee, the hosts of Magic Rays of Light, a weekly show that explores the world of Apple TV and Apple Arcade, which has joined MacStories, to discuss the show’s move to MacStories as well as tvOS and the apps we use to track media.\n\n \n \n \n \nSponsored by:\nMemberful – Easy-to-Use Reliable Membership Software\nSubscribe here.\nOn AppStories+, Federico shares tips on how he’s worked around some of the limitations of Apple Podcasts’ queueing system.\nWe deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.\n\u2192 Source: appstories.net", "date_published": "2024-01-15T13:25:44-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-15T13:25:44-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "appstories", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73884", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/magic-rays-of-light-joins-macstories/", "title": "Magic Rays of Light Joins MacStories", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

We’re pleased to announce that starting today, Magic Rays of Light, the podcast hosted by Sigmund Judge and Devon Dundee is joining MacStories. Federico and I couldn’t be happier to be adding Sigmund and Devon’s expertise in all things Apple TV+, tvOS, and Apple Arcade to MacStories. It’s a fantastic show full of thoughtful insights on one of Apple’s most interesting platforms.

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You can subscribe to Magic Rays of Light using the buttons below:

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You can find Magic Rays of Light in the MacStories channel in Apple Podcasts.

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If you’re already a Magic Rays of Light listener and are wondering if the show you love is about to change, the answer is ‘no.’ We asked Sigmund and Devon to join MacStories because we love what they’ve done with the show and want them to keep doing it. In practice, that means that the podcast feed will stay the same, so there’s no need to re-subscribe. Also, episodes will continue to be released weekly.

\n

That said, there will be a couple of minor changes. First, Magic Rays of Light will be published this Wednesday and every Wednesday going forward instead of Sundays, which slots in nicely between AppStories and MacStories Unwind, which bookend the MacStories podcast publication week. The schedule also fits well with the release timing of many Apple TV+ shows. Magic Rays of Light has moved to the MacStories podcasts channel in Apple Podcasts, too. If you’re not an Apple Podcasts user, that might not mean much, but the MacStories channel is one convenient place in Apple’s podcast directory where you can find all of our shows and the latest episodes of each.

\n

We also plan to work Magic Rays of Light into other aspects of what we do at MacStories. Whether it’s a notable addition to tvOS, a highly-anticipated new TV+ movie or show, or a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind the media you love, we’ll be exploring ways to share Sigmund and Devon’s knowledge beyond Magic Rays of Light to MacStories.net and Club MacStories members.

\n

For those of you who haven’t listened to Magic Rays of Light before, I encourage you to give it a try. I think you’ll immediately understand why it fits so well with our existing shows and MacStories generally. The show goes beyond the superficial plot summaries and trailers you find elsewhere to provide thoughtful, critical analysis about what makes some shows and movies work so well while others don’t. It also provides the kind of broad industry context that provides perspective on Apple’s media efforts in a way very few shows do.

\n

It happens to be the perfect time to jump into Magic Rays of Light, too. The show recently published its 100th episode, and with many critically acclaimed shows wrapping up their current seasons on Apple TV+ and new shows and movies landing on the streaming service soon, I know Sigmund and Devon have a lot of great episodes planned for the coming weeks.

\n

And, to kick things off and welcome Magic Rays of Light to MacStories, Federico and I will be joining this week’s episode as guests to talk about two of our favorite shows that just wrapped up on Apple TV+: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and For All Mankind, Season 4. The latest episode of AppStories also features guest appearances by Sigmund and Devon, who we invited to the show to talk about the move to MacStories and their favorite media tracking apps.

\n

We hope you join us to listen to both episodes and add Magic Rays of Light to your regular podcast rotation using the buttons below as we expand MacStories’ coverage of Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and tvOS. We couldn’t have a better duo to help us do more in these areas, and we are excited to help Sigmund and Devon do even more of what’s made the show such a success over more than 100 episodes.

\n
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\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "We’re pleased to announce that starting today, Magic Rays of Light, the podcast hosted by Sigmund Judge and Devon Dundee is joining MacStories. Federico and I couldn’t be happier to be adding Sigmund and Devon’s expertise in all things Apple TV+, tvOS, and Apple Arcade to MacStories. It’s a fantastic show full of thoughtful insights on one of Apple’s most interesting platforms.\nYou can subscribe to Magic Rays of Light using the buttons below:\n \n \n \n \n\nYou can find Magic Rays of Light in the MacStories channel in Apple Podcasts.\nIf you’re already a Magic Rays of Light listener and are wondering if the show you love is about to change, the answer is ‘no.’ We asked Sigmund and Devon to join MacStories because we love what they’ve done with the show and want them to keep doing it. In practice, that means that the podcast feed will stay the same, so there’s no need to re-subscribe. Also, episodes will continue to be released weekly.\nThat said, there will be a couple of minor changes. First, Magic Rays of Light will be published this Wednesday and every Wednesday going forward instead of Sundays, which slots in nicely between AppStories and MacStories Unwind, which bookend the MacStories podcast publication week. The schedule also fits well with the release timing of many Apple TV+ shows. Magic Rays of Light has moved to the MacStories podcasts channel in Apple Podcasts, too. If you’re not an Apple Podcasts user, that might not mean much, but the MacStories channel is one convenient place in Apple’s podcast directory where you can find all of our shows and the latest episodes of each.\nWe also plan to work Magic Rays of Light into other aspects of what we do at MacStories. Whether it’s a notable addition to tvOS, a highly-anticipated new TV+ movie or show, or a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind the media you love, we’ll be exploring ways to share Sigmund and Devon’s knowledge beyond Magic Rays of Light to MacStories.net and Club MacStories members.\nFor those of you who haven’t listened to Magic Rays of Light before, I encourage you to give it a try. I think you’ll immediately understand why it fits so well with our existing shows and MacStories generally. The show goes beyond the superficial plot summaries and trailers you find elsewhere to provide thoughtful, critical analysis about what makes some shows and movies work so well while others don’t. It also provides the kind of broad industry context that provides perspective on Apple’s media efforts in a way very few shows do.\nIt happens to be the perfect time to jump into Magic Rays of Light, too. The show recently published its 100th episode, and with many critically acclaimed shows wrapping up their current seasons on Apple TV+ and new shows and movies landing on the streaming service soon, I know Sigmund and Devon have a lot of great episodes planned for the coming weeks.\nAnd, to kick things off and welcome Magic Rays of Light to MacStories, Federico and I will be joining this week’s episode as guests to talk about two of our favorite shows that just wrapped up on Apple TV+: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and For All Mankind, Season 4. The latest episode of AppStories also features guest appearances by Sigmund and Devon, who we invited to the show to talk about the move to MacStories and their favorite media tracking apps.\nWe hope you join us to listen to both episodes and add Magic Rays of Light to your regular podcast rotation using the buttons below as we expand MacStories’ coverage of Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and tvOS. We couldn’t have a better duo to help us do more in these areas, and we are excited to help Sigmund and Devon do even more of what’s made the show such a success over more than 100 episodes.\n \n \n \n \nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-15T10:01:02-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-15T10:53:45-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Magic Rays of Light", "podcasts", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73877", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/a-glimmer-of-hope-for-thread-at-ces/", "title": "A Glimmer of Hope for Thread at CES", "content_html": "

Thread has a problem. It was supposed to be the low-energy, wireless protocol that lets all of your smart home devices talk to each other no matter who built them. However, in practice, devices from different makers don’t play very well with each other, often resulting in multiple Thread networks, largely defeating the purpose of the standard.

\n

The good news is that Jennifer Pattison Touhy reports for The Verge that the Thread Group has a solution:

\n

\n Thread Group’s plan to fix the multi-network problem is to standardize how border routers share credentials with border routers from different manufacturers. In a blog post released at CES this week, the group says these changes should make it easier to add a new Thread border router or Thread device to an existing network. The result will be “a single, larger ranging Thread mesh network, including multiple Border Routers, which in turn can increase the reliability of all the devices in it.”\n

\n

That sounds great, but like any standard, it’s likely to take a while to filter through to the devices you use in your home. Still, it’s progress and a reason to be optimistic that eventually, your smart home devices may play nice with each other no matter who makes them.

\n

\u2192 Source: theverge.com

", "content_text": "Thread has a problem. It was supposed to be the low-energy, wireless protocol that lets all of your smart home devices talk to each other no matter who built them. However, in practice, devices from different makers don’t play very well with each other, often resulting in multiple Thread networks, largely defeating the purpose of the standard.\nThe good news is that Jennifer Pattison Touhy reports for The Verge that the Thread Group has a solution:\n\n Thread Group’s plan to fix the multi-network problem is to standardize how border routers share credentials with border routers from different manufacturers. In a blog post released at CES this week, the group says these changes should make it easier to add a new Thread border router or Thread device to an existing network. The result will be “a single, larger ranging Thread mesh network, including multiple Border Routers, which in turn can increase the reliability of all the devices in it.”\n\nThat sounds great, but like any standard, it’s likely to take a while to filter through to the devices you use in your home. Still, it’s progress and a reason to be optimistic that eventually, your smart home devices may play nice with each other no matter who makes them.\n\u2192 Source: theverge.com", "date_published": "2024-01-12T16:15:25-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-12T17:14:59-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "home automation", "Smart Home", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73875", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/macstories-unwind-federicos-new-year-surprise/", "title": "MacStories Unwind: Federico\u2019s New Year Surprise", "content_html": "
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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico surprises John with his big holiday videogame project in the first part of what promises to be a fun Unwind miniseries.

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Sponsored By:

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Federico’s New Year Surprise

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MacStories Unwind+

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We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.

\n

To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "0:0025:37\n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \nThis week on MacStories Unwind, Federico surprises John with his big holiday videogame project in the first part of what promises to be a fun Unwind miniseries.\nSponsored By:\nKolide – Kolide ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!\nLinks and Show Notes\nFederico’s New Year Surprise\nThe Yuzu Switch emulator\nSwitch Hacking Is Easy\nHekate\nNintendo Switch Piracy & Hacking - Did You Know Gaming Ft. Dazz\nDiscoverer of the Tegra chip exploit\nMacStories Unwind+\n\nWe deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-12T14:37:11-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-12T14:37:11-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "unwind", "news" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/385e040e-a379-48e2-aa25-392f04f57c71/audio/dec4a693-3798-49bf-80bf-4ef315bafe17/default_tc.mp3?nocache", "mime_type": "audio/mpeg", "size_in_bytes": 25032567 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73814", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/ces-2024-asus-rules-ces-a-grab-bag-of-other-announcements-plus-more-weird-and-wonderful-gadget-finds/", "title": "CES 2024: ASUS Rules CES, A Grab Bag of Other Announcements, Plus More Weird and Wonderful Gadget Finds", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: CES.

\n

We’re only two days into CES 2024, and something occurred to me in the aftermath of ASUS’s packed presentation. We’re in a new golden age of gadgets, the likes of which we haven’t seen in many years. The world seems ready for something new after spending more than a decade cramming everything imaginable into our phones. An awful lot of companies seem to think the next big thing will be powered by artificial intelligence. Perhaps it will be, but even if it isn’t, we’re seeing a breadth and depth of gadget innovation at CES that’s exciting.

\n

Yesterday, the gadget that stuck with me the most was the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. I love the flexibility and modularity it promises. ASUS’s ROG Phone 8 line of mobile phones was a close second with its beefy, game-friendly specs. But neither captured my imagination quite like one of the accessories ASUS saved for yesterday’s presentation.

\n

\n

The ASUS ZenScreen Fold OLED Portable Display

\n
\"The

The ASUS ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH. Source: ASUS.

\n

The ASUS ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH has a lot in common with the ASUS ZenBook 17 Fold OLED laptop, except instead of being a laptop, it’s a portable, foldable, 17.3-inch OLED screen. The display’s 2560×1920 resolution makes it extra tall. The screen can be used in either portrait or landscape orientations, with the content that’s displayed onscreen switching automatically between the two. ASUS makes a stand for the screen that uses a quarter-inch tripod mount to secure the display, but it also has a built-in kickstand that works in either orientation. When folded, the ZenScreen Fold is roughly the size of a 13-inch laptop. The device features two USB-C connectors for power and video transmission, as well as a mini-HDMI port.

\n
\n

If that all sounds like it will cost a lot, it will. Although ASUS didn’t reveal the price of the ZenScreen Fold during its presentation, it told Abt in the video above that it will be close to $3,000.

\n

ASUS Comes Out Swinging

\n
\"The

The ASUS AirVision M1. Source: ASUS.

\n

The ZenScreen Fold wasn’t ASUS’s only interesting product announced yesterday. The company also showed off the AirVision M1, a pair of glasses that serve as an external display, similar to the XREAL Air glasses that Federico and I have and the XREAL Air 2 Ultra glasses I covered earlier this week.

\n

The AirVision M1 features an impressive 1100 nits of peak brightness, a 57-degree vertical field of view, which is wider than many similar products, support for multiple aspect ratios, and displays content in 1080p. The glasses also work with a Windows app that allows it to display multiple virtual screens of content. There’s no word yet on when and where the glasses will be available or how much they’ll cost.

\n
\"The

The ASUS Zenbook Duo. Source: ASUS.

\n

Dual-screen laptops aren’t new, but ASUS’s entry in the category looks promising. The Zenbook Duo features two 14-inch 2.8K connected touch-enabled screens that refresh at 120Hz and can be used in landscape or portrait orientations, plus a keyboard that can be detached. The multiple configurations appear to provide a lot of flexibility in the way the Zenbook Duo can be used, and at just 3.3 pounds, it’s not much heavier than a MacBook Air. According to The Verge, the Zenbook Duo will start at $1,499.

\n

Odds and Ends

\n
\"The

The Sennheiser Momentum Sport. Source: Sennheiser.

\n

There have been a lot of other interesting announcements at CES over the past couple of days, too, including:

\n

Weird and Wonderful

\n
\"The

The Seergrills Perfecta. Source: Seergrills.

\n

Every year, CES is flooded with expensive cooking gadgets, and this year is no different. UK-based Seergrills demonstrated a grill called the Perfecta that allows you to grill a steak in under two minutes. The $3,500 grill’s burners can reach 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit, and, of course, it uses AI to help you perfect your grilling skills. Seergrills says the Perfecta will be available in Q4 2024.

\n
\"Razor's

Razor’s Project Esther. Source: Razer.

\n

I love Razer’s over-the-top gamer gear. Alongside computers and accessories, the company showed off Project Esther, a new haptics technology built into what it says is the world’s first HD haptic cushion for a gaming chair. Razer’s rumble chair is still just a prototype, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a version of it is released eventually.

\n
\"Samsung's

Samsung’s Ballie. Source: Samsung.

\n

Companies seem to have learned the lesson that showing off creepy humanoid robots at CES gets attention, but not necessarily the right kind of attention. This year, Samsung and LG both showed off cute robots. Samsung’s Ballie is a colorful round robot that incorporates a projector and can perform smart home tasks and video phone calls.

\n
\"Hot

Hot Take: LG’s robot is cuter than Samsung’s. Source: LG.

\n

LG’s robot rides on two-wheeled legs and performs household tasks as part of the company’s ThinQ home system. According to LG, the unnamed bot acts as your agent, controlling home appliances, traffic reports, weather, and other information using “AI.”

\n
\"The

The Pivotal Helix. Source Pivotal.

\n

To wrap things up today, I want to leave you with Pivotal’s personal aircraft. The one-person electric vehicle, which is called the Helix and looks a little like a drone for humans, is available for purchase for just $190,000. The Helix doesn’t require a pilot’s license because it’s classified as an ‘ultralight’ aircraft by the FAA in the US, which is a little frightening if you ask me, but fortunately, that also means it can’t be flown over congested areas or near airports.

\n

Alright, that’s it for this CES roundup. I’ve got to go add the Helix to my list of reasons not to move to Silicon Valley.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: CES.\nWe’re only two days into CES 2024, and something occurred to me in the aftermath of ASUS’s packed presentation. We’re in a new golden age of gadgets, the likes of which we haven’t seen in many years. The world seems ready for something new after spending more than a decade cramming everything imaginable into our phones. An awful lot of companies seem to think the next big thing will be powered by artificial intelligence. Perhaps it will be, but even if it isn’t, we’re seeing a breadth and depth of gadget innovation at CES that’s exciting.\nYesterday, the gadget that stuck with me the most was the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. I love the flexibility and modularity it promises. ASUS’s ROG Phone 8 line of mobile phones was a close second with its beefy, game-friendly specs. But neither captured my imagination quite like one of the accessories ASUS saved for yesterday’s presentation.\n\nThe ASUS ZenScreen Fold OLED Portable Display\nThe ASUS ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH. Source: ASUS.\nThe ASUS ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH has a lot in common with the ASUS ZenBook 17 Fold OLED laptop, except instead of being a laptop, it’s a portable, foldable, 17.3-inch OLED screen. The display’s 2560×1920 resolution makes it extra tall. The screen can be used in either portrait or landscape orientations, with the content that’s displayed onscreen switching automatically between the two. ASUS makes a stand for the screen that uses a quarter-inch tripod mount to secure the display, but it also has a built-in kickstand that works in either orientation. When folded, the ZenScreen Fold is roughly the size of a 13-inch laptop. The device features two USB-C connectors for power and video transmission, as well as a mini-HDMI port.\n\nIf that all sounds like it will cost a lot, it will. Although ASUS didn’t reveal the price of the ZenScreen Fold during its presentation, it told Abt in the video above that it will be close to $3,000.\nASUS Comes Out Swinging\nThe ASUS AirVision M1. Source: ASUS.\nThe ZenScreen Fold wasn’t ASUS’s only interesting product announced yesterday. The company also showed off the AirVision M1, a pair of glasses that serve as an external display, similar to the XREAL Air glasses that Federico and I have and the XREAL Air 2 Ultra glasses I covered earlier this week.\nThe AirVision M1 features an impressive 1100 nits of peak brightness, a 57-degree vertical field of view, which is wider than many similar products, support for multiple aspect ratios, and displays content in 1080p. The glasses also work with a Windows app that allows it to display multiple virtual screens of content. There’s no word yet on when and where the glasses will be available or how much they’ll cost.\nThe ASUS Zenbook Duo. Source: ASUS.\nDual-screen laptops aren’t new, but ASUS’s entry in the category looks promising. The Zenbook Duo features two 14-inch 2.8K connected touch-enabled screens that refresh at 120Hz and can be used in landscape or portrait orientations, plus a keyboard that can be detached. The multiple configurations appear to provide a lot of flexibility in the way the Zenbook Duo can be used, and at just 3.3 pounds, it’s not much heavier than a MacBook Air. According to The Verge, the Zenbook Duo will start at $1,499.\nOdds and Ends\nThe Sennheiser Momentum Sport. Source: Sennheiser.\nThere have been a lot of other interesting announcements at CES over the past couple of days, too, including:\nThe Razor Aether Monitor Light Bar, a computer screen-mounted light that bathes your desktop in light but can also throw game-synced RGB color against your wall behind your monitor, which will be out in March for $129.99\nJBL announced the Live Buds 3 and Live Beam 3 earbuds that are IP55 and IP54 rated for water and dust resistance respectively and feature a touchscreen charging case that can receive notifications and other alerts from an Android phone.\nSennheiser introduced the Bluetooth 5.4 Momentum Sport earbuds that include a heart rate sensor that syncs its data with the Apple Watch and are IP55 rated. The earbuds will be available on April 9th for $329.95.\nNanoleaf is ready to turn the entire exterior of your home into an RGB playground with its descriptively-named Smart Multicolor Permanent Outdoor Lights.\nTP-Link introduced the Tapo DL130, a smart door lock that doubles as a video doorbell and works with Apple Home that the company says is coming soon for an unspecified price.\nWi-Fi 7 has been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, so expect wireless router manufactures to start rolling out certified Wi-Fi 7 routers soon with promises of faster speeds.\nWeird and Wonderful\nThe Seergrills Perfecta. Source: Seergrills.\nEvery year, CES is flooded with expensive cooking gadgets, and this year is no different. UK-based Seergrills demonstrated a grill called the Perfecta that allows you to grill a steak in under two minutes. The $3,500 grill’s burners can reach 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit, and, of course, it uses AI to help you perfect your grilling skills. Seergrills says the Perfecta will be available in Q4 2024.\nRazor’s Project Esther. Source: Razer.\nI love Razer’s over-the-top gamer gear. Alongside computers and accessories, the company showed off Project Esther, a new haptics technology built into what it says is the world’s first HD haptic cushion for a gaming chair. Razer’s rumble chair is still just a prototype, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a version of it is released eventually.\nSamsung’s Ballie. Source: Samsung.\nCompanies seem to have learned the lesson that showing off creepy humanoid robots at CES gets attention, but not necessarily the right kind of attention. This year, Samsung and LG both showed off cute robots. Samsung’s Ballie is a colorful round robot that incorporates a projector and can perform smart home tasks and video phone calls.\nHot Take: LG’s robot is cuter than Samsung’s. Source: LG.\nLG’s robot rides on two-wheeled legs and performs household tasks as part of the company’s ThinQ home system. According to LG, the unnamed bot acts as your agent, controlling home appliances, traffic reports, weather, and other information using “AI.”\nThe Pivotal Helix. Source Pivotal.\nTo wrap things up today, I want to leave you with Pivotal’s personal aircraft. The one-person electric vehicle, which is called the Helix and looks a little like a drone for humans, is available for purchase for just $190,000. The Helix doesn’t require a pilot’s license because it’s classified as an ‘ultralight’ aircraft by the FAA in the US, which is a little frightening if you ask me, but fortunately, that also means it can’t be flown over congested areas or near airports.\nAlright, that’s it for this CES roundup. I’ve got to go add the Helix to my list of reasons not to move to Silicon Valley.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-10T12:06:57-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-10T12:06:57-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "CES", "headphones", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73806", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/ces-2024-more-gaming-laptops-hybrid-computers-nucs-and-smart-home-devices/", "title": "CES 2024: More Gaming, Laptops, Hybrid Computers, NUCs, and Smart Home Devices", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: CES.

\n

After what already feels like a week of CES, it’s the official day one of the conference. There have been a ton of announcements already. As anticipated, gaming is very big this year, with new handhelds, laptops, and other devices announced. Interesting new approaches to hybrid computers, ASUS’s first NUC, and a handful of smart home devices have been announced already, too, so let’s dig into the latest.

\n

\n

Gaming

\n
\"The

The ROG Phone 8. Source: ASUS.

\n

Handheld gaming is big at CES this year, but not every device looks like a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck. ASUS introduced its ROG Phone 8, ROG Phone 8 Pro, and ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition, a trio of gaming-focused Android phones. As devices like the Ayn Odin Pro 2, which we covered on MacStories Unwind, have shown, Qualcomm’s latest chipsets running Android are a great option for gamers. What’s different about ASUS’s mobile phones is that they go even further with a newer generation chipset, more memory than a typical mobile phone, and a focus on cooling to ensure its chips are running at top speeds.

\n

The ROG Phone 8 has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, with an RGB logo on the back for $1,099.99. The Pro is $100 more with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and an LED matrix display on the back. The Edition adds another $300 which gets you 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Phone 8 line uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and has bright, high-refresh rate screens.

\n
\"The

The AeroActive Cooler X. Source: Asus.

\n

For cooling, the phones use boron nitride and copper, achieving what ASUS says is 20% more thermal efficiency than the models the Phone 8 line replaces. For even more cooling and a sick Transformer vibe, ASUS introduced the AeroActive Cooler X, which attaches to your Phone 8 to aid in cooling.

\n

For additional details, I suggest Jon Porter’s overview of the new Phone 8 line on The Verge.

\n
\"The

The Lenovo 9i. Source: Lenovo.

\n

The usual suspects have begun announcing new and improved gaming laptops, too. I mentioned Razer’s Blade updates in my last CES update, but there are many others worth mentioning:

\n
\"The

The Claw by MSI. Source: MSI.

\n

Yesterday, MSI also officially revealed the previously-leaked MSI Claw, a Windows-based handheld gaming device. The Claw looks a lot like the ASUS ROG Ally but features an Intel processor. The device also has a 120Hz 1080p 7-inch IPS display, 16GB of memory, and up to 1TB of PCIe M.2 SSD storage.

\n

Computers and Tablets

\n
\"The

The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. Source: Lenovo.

\n

The line between laptops and tablets is blurring more than ever. One of the best examples at CES is the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid, a convertible tablet/laptop that Lenovo debuted at CES. In tablet mode, the device runs Android, and set up as a laptop with its keyboard, it runs Windows. Also, the screen can be detached from the keyboard and operated independently when the keyboard is connected to a display. It’s a cool idea that I’m sure would work even better if both OSes were made by the same company. Imagine, for instance, a similar hybrid from Apple that could run macOS in laptop mode and iPadOS in tablet mode.

\n
\"The

The ROG NUC. Source: ASUS.

\n

ASUS revealed its first NUC mini-PC, having taken over production of the diminutive computers when Intel exited the market last year. The ROG NUC is a tiny Windows PC with an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, NVIDIA RTX 4070 GPU, and DDR5 memory. The NUC also features one Thunderbolt 4 port, HDMI 2.1, and an easy-to-open case.

\n

According to Engadget, ASUS has more NUCs coming soon, which I hope is the case. I love the idea of a tiny gaming computer tucked away out of sight behind my TV or under my desk.

\n

Smart Home

\n
\"The

The Aqara M3 Hub. Source: Aqara.

\n

Aqara has already announced multiple home automation devices at CES. One of the most interesting is the Aqara Hub M3. The company has made multiple hubs for its gear in the past, but what sets the M3 hub apart is the inclusion of a Matter controller, which means you’ll be able to use it with non-Aqara devices. The M3 Hub will also support Thread, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and infrared for communicating with devices. Aqara says the M3 Hub will ship in the second quarter of 2024. Also worth mentioning from Aqara is a smart plug that serves as a Matter border router, which is unusual for smart plugs.

\n

That’s it for now folks. I’ll be back with more soon, including more weird and wonderful gems that beg for your attention.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: CES.\nAfter what already feels like a week of CES, it’s the official day one of the conference. There have been a ton of announcements already. As anticipated, gaming is very big this year, with new handhelds, laptops, and other devices announced. Interesting new approaches to hybrid computers, ASUS’s first NUC, and a handful of smart home devices have been announced already, too, so let’s dig into the latest.\n\nGaming\nThe ROG Phone 8. Source: ASUS.\nHandheld gaming is big at CES this year, but not every device looks like a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck. ASUS introduced its ROG Phone 8, ROG Phone 8 Pro, and ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition, a trio of gaming-focused Android phones. As devices like the Ayn Odin Pro 2, which we covered on MacStories Unwind, have shown, Qualcomm’s latest chipsets running Android are a great option for gamers. What’s different about ASUS’s mobile phones is that they go even further with a newer generation chipset, more memory than a typical mobile phone, and a focus on cooling to ensure its chips are running at top speeds.\nThe ROG Phone 8 has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, with an RGB logo on the back for $1,099.99. The Pro is $100 more with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and an LED matrix display on the back. The Edition adds another $300 which gets you 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Phone 8 line uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and has bright, high-refresh rate screens.\nThe AeroActive Cooler X. Source: Asus.\nFor cooling, the phones use boron nitride and copper, achieving what ASUS says is 20% more thermal efficiency than the models the Phone 8 line replaces. For even more cooling and a sick Transformer vibe, ASUS introduced the AeroActive Cooler X, which attaches to your Phone 8 to aid in cooling.\nFor additional details, I suggest Jon Porter’s overview of the new Phone 8 line on The Verge.\nThe Lenovo 9i. Source: Lenovo.\nThe usual suspects have begun announcing new and improved gaming laptops, too. I mentioned Razer’s Blade updates in my last CES update, but there are many others worth mentioning:\nLenovo introduced a bunch of gaming laptops, including the Legion 9i, a new top-of-the-line computer with Intel’s Core Gen i9-14900HX CPU, a GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, and 16-inch 165Hz 3.2K display, with up to 64GB of RAM and 2TB of storage starting at $4,400, which will be available later this month.\nNot to be outdone, MSI released the Titan 18 HX, a massive 18-inch, 7.9-pound (3.6 kg) gaming laptop, with the same processor as the Lenovo 9i, DLSS 3.5 support, RTX 4080 and 4090 GPU options, a 3840 x 2400 Mini LED display, up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM, a PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSD slot, and two other SSD slots, which The Verge reports will be cost $5,000.\nASUS revealed the ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 laptops both of which feature an aluminum case, a 3K 120Hz OLED panel on the smaller 14-inch model and 2.5K 240Hz OLED display on the 16-inch model, support for NVIDIA G-Sync, up to 32GB of RAM. The smaller model uses AMD’s Ryzen 8000 series processors and up to an NVIDIA RTX 4070 GPU, while the larger G16 features an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and RTX 4090 graphics. Both laptops are expected to be available in February.\nThe Claw by MSI. Source: MSI.\nYesterday, MSI also officially revealed the previously-leaked MSI Claw, a Windows-based handheld gaming device. The Claw looks a lot like the ASUS ROG Ally but features an Intel processor. The device also has a 120Hz 1080p 7-inch IPS display, 16GB of memory, and up to 1TB of PCIe M.2 SSD storage.\nComputers and Tablets\nThe Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. Source: Lenovo.\nThe line between laptops and tablets is blurring more than ever. One of the best examples at CES is the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid, a convertible tablet/laptop that Lenovo debuted at CES. In tablet mode, the device runs Android, and set up as a laptop with its keyboard, it runs Windows. Also, the screen can be detached from the keyboard and operated independently when the keyboard is connected to a display. It’s a cool idea that I’m sure would work even better if both OSes were made by the same company. Imagine, for instance, a similar hybrid from Apple that could run macOS in laptop mode and iPadOS in tablet mode.\nThe ROG NUC. Source: ASUS.\nASUS revealed its first NUC mini-PC, having taken over production of the diminutive computers when Intel exited the market last year. The ROG NUC is a tiny Windows PC with an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, NVIDIA RTX 4070 GPU, and DDR5 memory. The NUC also features one Thunderbolt 4 port, HDMI 2.1, and an easy-to-open case.\nAccording to Engadget, ASUS has more NUCs coming soon, which I hope is the case. I love the idea of a tiny gaming computer tucked away out of sight behind my TV or under my desk.\nSmart Home\nThe Aqara M3 Hub. Source: Aqara.\nAqara has already announced multiple home automation devices at CES. One of the most interesting is the Aqara Hub M3. The company has made multiple hubs for its gear in the past, but what sets the M3 hub apart is the inclusion of a Matter controller, which means you’ll be able to use it with non-Aqara devices. The M3 Hub will also support Thread, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and infrared for communicating with devices. Aqara says the M3 Hub will ship in the second quarter of 2024. Also worth mentioning from Aqara is a smart plug that serves as a Matter border router, which is unusual for smart plugs.\nThat’s it for now folks. I’ll be back with more soon, including more weird and wonderful gems that beg for your attention.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-09T16:20:54-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-09T16:20:54-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "CES", "games", "home automation", "Smart Home", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73783", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/ces-2024-gaming-laptops-tvs-ar-and-vr-batteries-and-a-couple-of-oddities/", "title": "CES 2024: Gaming, Laptops, TVs, AR and VR, Batteries, and a Couple of Oddities", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: CES.

\n

Every year, I dig into the press releases and reporting coming from the CES show floor, so you don’t have to. The pandemic took the wind out of CES’s sails for a few years, but the show and interesting gadgets have made a comeback for 2024, with a wide range of announcements made in the days leading up to the show, which doesn’t even officially start until tomorrow. I’ll be back with more updates throughout the week, but here are some of the announcements that have caught my eye so far.

\n

\n

Gaming

\n
\"Source:

Source: NVIDIA.

\n

NVIDIA revealed that it’s adding G-Sync variable refresh rate technology to its GeForce NOW game streaming service. The same service will add day passes beginning in early February, allowing gamers to stream games from the company’s RTX 4080 servers for $8. During its presentation, NVIDIA revealed that Horizon Forbidden West will launch on the PC with DLSS 3 support and Diablo IV will feature RTX ray-tracing in March.

\n

Finally, NVIDIA introduced the RTX 4080 Super and RTX 4070 Ti Super. Both graphics cards offer improved performance over the models they are replacing in the lineup, with the 4080 Super getting a price cut compared to the 4080 it replaces. According to NVIDIA:

\n

\n the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER can power fully ray-traced games at 4K. It’s 1.4x faster than the RTX 3080 Ti without frame gen in the most graphically intensive games. With 836 AI TOPS, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation delivers an extra performance boost, making the RTX 4080 SUPER twice as fast as an RTX 3080 Ti.\n

\n

Computers

\n
\"Razer

Razer Blade 18. Source: Razer.

\n

2023 saw some excellent gaming laptop releases, but progress marches on, and for 2024, we’ve got more Hz, nits, and more. Razer says it will be pushing its Blade 16 laptop to the next level with a 240Hz OLED screen, while its 18-inch model will get a 165Hz 4K LED panel with G-Sync. Both will show 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut too. The screens on these new Razer laptops sound great, but the real question that won’t be answered until they’re in player’s hands is just how well they can run the most demanding games.

\n

TVs

\n

Both LG and Samsung are showing off transparent TVs at CES. The LG 77-inch TV is based on OLED technology and will be available later this year at an unspecified, likely nose-bleed, price. You can even beam content to LG’s OLED T wirelessly from across the room. Chris Welch of The Verge got a demo of LG’s TV and was impressed.

\n

Samsung’s transparent MicroLED TV is on display on the show floor, too, but sadly, remains a mere prototype.

\n

There are plenty of other TVs being released at CES this year from LG, Samsung, and others, but most of the announcements so far are incremental updates of existing models that lean heavily into AI processing.

\n
\"Roku

Roku Pro Series TV. Source: Roku.

\n

Last year, Roku unveiled a line of bargain-oriented TVs at CES made with partner TCL. This year, Roku is stepping up its display game with a ‘Pro Series’ line that feature Mini LED screens that come in 55, 65, and 75-inch models. According to Engadget, the TVs will be available in the US this spring.

\n

AR and VR

\n

In the leadup to CES, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, a chip that Samsung, HTC and others are expected to use to create competitors to Apple’s Vision Pro. The chip is designed to drive mixed and virtual reality devices as well as smart glasses. Among other benefits, Qualcomm touts the energy efficiency of its chip, stating that it won’t require an external battery pack, a not-to-thinly-veiled reference to the Apple Vision Pro’s external battery pack.

\n
\"XREAL

XREAL Air 2 Ultra. Source: XREAL.

\n

Also, XREAL debuted its Air 2 Ultra glasses at CES, a $699 pair of AR glasses. According to Adi Robertson of The Verge:

\n

\n The Air 2 Ultra offers a 52-degree field of view compared to the 46-degree Air 2; both products feature 500 nits of brightness, a 1080p screen for each eye, and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The Ultra glasses are a touch heavier, though, weighing 80 grams compared to 72 grams for the standard Air 2. Like the Air 2, they can be plugged into a range of computing devices, including macOS and Windows-based computers, Samsung Android phones, and the iPhone 15. On Android, macOS, and Windows, they will support Xreal’s Nebula AR environment.\n

\n

The Air 2 Ultra glasses are slated for release in March.

\n

Accessories

\n

Mophie is filling the void left by the fact that Apple no longer makes a case that incorporates a battery. The Mophie Juice Pack works with the iPhone 15, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max and includes 2,400, 2,600, and 2,800mAh batteries respectively. Mophie says the cases will be available for pre-order in late February for $99.99.

\n

Weird and Wonderful Gadgets

\n

Who wants to press a button when you can talk to your bidet? That’s the premise of Kohler’s hands-free bidet seat that lets you mod your existing toilet, transforming it into something futuristic and fancy. For a mere $2149, you can connect your bidet-let (the hot new toilet/bidet combo category) to Alexa, Google Home, and Kohler’s own Kohler Konnect app but not HomeKit.

\n
\"The

The Clicks keyboard accessory. Source: Clicks.

\n

Clicks isn’t the first, and it is unlikely to be the last, keyboard case accessory for the iPhone, but it certainly looks promising. I spend most of my day typing on a proper keyboard, but sometimes that’s just not possible. Clicks appeals to that part of my brain that used to bang out articles for MacStories while riding a train into downtown Chicago, not to mention my nearly forgotten Blackberry days as a lawyer. The accessory is essentially an iPhone case that incorporates a physical keyboard at the bottom. I’m not sure how often that would fit into my daily life now, but I’m excited to try it, especially since it will support system and app-specific keyboard shortcuts. The Clicks keyboard accessory will begin shipping next month.

\n
\"Moonwalkers

Moonwalkers X. Source: Shift Robotics.

\n

Moonwalkers are back at CES with a new version of their robot shoes that help you walk fast. Shift Robotics’ Moonwalkers X weigh 3.2 pounds and have six wheels per foot and sell for $1,400 (both feet included). The robot shoes strap onto your existing shoes and are meant for commercial applications, but who knows, maybe you’ll see them on a street near you soon.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: CES.\nEvery year, I dig into the press releases and reporting coming from the CES show floor, so you don’t have to. The pandemic took the wind out of CES’s sails for a few years, but the show and interesting gadgets have made a comeback for 2024, with a wide range of announcements made in the days leading up to the show, which doesn’t even officially start until tomorrow. I’ll be back with more updates throughout the week, but here are some of the announcements that have caught my eye so far.\n\nGaming\nSource: NVIDIA.\nNVIDIA revealed that it’s adding G-Sync variable refresh rate technology to its GeForce NOW game streaming service. The same service will add day passes beginning in early February, allowing gamers to stream games from the company’s RTX 4080 servers for $8. During its presentation, NVIDIA revealed that Horizon Forbidden West will launch on the PC with DLSS 3 support and Diablo IV will feature RTX ray-tracing in March.\nFinally, NVIDIA introduced the RTX 4080 Super and RTX 4070 Ti Super. Both graphics cards offer improved performance over the models they are replacing in the lineup, with the 4080 Super getting a price cut compared to the 4080 it replaces. According to NVIDIA:\n\n the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER can power fully ray-traced games at 4K. It’s 1.4x faster than the RTX 3080 Ti without frame gen in the most graphically intensive games. With 836 AI TOPS, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation delivers an extra performance boost, making the RTX 4080 SUPER twice as fast as an RTX 3080 Ti.\n\nComputers\nRazer Blade 18. Source: Razer.\n2023 saw some excellent gaming laptop releases, but progress marches on, and for 2024, we’ve got more Hz, nits, and more. Razer says it will be pushing its Blade 16 laptop to the next level with a 240Hz OLED screen, while its 18-inch model will get a 165Hz 4K LED panel with G-Sync. Both will show 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut too. The screens on these new Razer laptops sound great, but the real question that won’t be answered until they’re in player’s hands is just how well they can run the most demanding games.\nTVs\nBoth LG and Samsung are showing off transparent TVs at CES. The LG 77-inch TV is based on OLED technology and will be available later this year at an unspecified, likely nose-bleed, price. You can even beam content to LG’s OLED T wirelessly from across the room. Chris Welch of The Verge got a demo of LG’s TV and was impressed.\nSamsung’s transparent MicroLED TV is on display on the show floor, too, but sadly, remains a mere prototype.\nThere are plenty of other TVs being released at CES this year from LG, Samsung, and others, but most of the announcements so far are incremental updates of existing models that lean heavily into AI processing.\nRoku Pro Series TV. Source: Roku.\nLast year, Roku unveiled a line of bargain-oriented TVs at CES made with partner TCL. This year, Roku is stepping up its display game with a ‘Pro Series’ line that feature Mini LED screens that come in 55, 65, and 75-inch models. According to Engadget, the TVs will be available in the US this spring.\nAR and VR\nIn the leadup to CES, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, a chip that Samsung, HTC and others are expected to use to create competitors to Apple’s Vision Pro. The chip is designed to drive mixed and virtual reality devices as well as smart glasses. Among other benefits, Qualcomm touts the energy efficiency of its chip, stating that it won’t require an external battery pack, a not-to-thinly-veiled reference to the Apple Vision Pro’s external battery pack.\nXREAL Air 2 Ultra. Source: XREAL.\nAlso, XREAL debuted its Air 2 Ultra glasses at CES, a $699 pair of AR glasses. According to Adi Robertson of The Verge:\n\n The Air 2 Ultra offers a 52-degree field of view compared to the 46-degree Air 2; both products feature 500 nits of brightness, a 1080p screen for each eye, and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The Ultra glasses are a touch heavier, though, weighing 80 grams compared to 72 grams for the standard Air 2. Like the Air 2, they can be plugged into a range of computing devices, including macOS and Windows-based computers, Samsung Android phones, and the iPhone 15. On Android, macOS, and Windows, they will support Xreal’s Nebula AR environment.\n\nThe Air 2 Ultra glasses are slated for release in March.\nAccessories\nMophie is filling the void left by the fact that Apple no longer makes a case that incorporates a battery. The Mophie Juice Pack works with the iPhone 15, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max and includes 2,400, 2,600, and 2,800mAh batteries respectively. Mophie says the cases will be available for pre-order in late February for $99.99.\nWeird and Wonderful Gadgets\nWho wants to press a button when you can talk to your bidet? That’s the premise of Kohler’s hands-free bidet seat that lets you mod your existing toilet, transforming it into something futuristic and fancy. For a mere $2149, you can connect your bidet-let (the hot new toilet/bidet combo category) to Alexa, Google Home, and Kohler’s own Kohler Konnect app but not HomeKit.\nThe Clicks keyboard accessory. Source: Clicks.\nClicks isn’t the first, and it is unlikely to be the last, keyboard case accessory for the iPhone, but it certainly looks promising. I spend most of my day typing on a proper keyboard, but sometimes that’s just not possible. Clicks appeals to that part of my brain that used to bang out articles for MacStories while riding a train into downtown Chicago, not to mention my nearly forgotten Blackberry days as a lawyer. The accessory is essentially an iPhone case that incorporates a physical keyboard at the bottom. I’m not sure how often that would fit into my daily life now, but I’m excited to try it, especially since it will support system and app-specific keyboard shortcuts. The Clicks keyboard accessory will begin shipping next month.\nMoonwalkers X. Source: Shift Robotics.\nMoonwalkers are back at CES with a new version of their robot shoes that help you walk fast. Shift Robotics’ Moonwalkers X weigh 3.2 pounds and have six wheels per foot and sell for $1,400 (both feet included). The robot shoes strap onto your existing shoes and are meant for commercial applications, but who knows, maybe you’ll see them on a street near you soon.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-09T08:30:19-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-09T08:30:19-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "CES", "games", "tv", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73701", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/appstories-episode-365-the-return-of-the-classic-pick-2/", "title": "AppStories, Episode 365 \u2013 The Return of the Classic Pick 2", "content_html": "

This week on AppStories, we pick two apps we’ve been enjoying recently.

\n
\n

\n
\"\"\"\"
\n
\"\"\"\"
\n
\n

Sponsored by:

\n
\"[Subscribe

Subscribe here.

\n

On AppStories+, we share a grab bag of bonus app picks.

\n

We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

\n

To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

\n

\u2192 Source: appstories.net

", "content_text": "This week on AppStories, we pick two apps we’ve been enjoying recently.\n\n \n \n \n \nSponsored by:\nNotion – Do your most efficient work with Notion AI. Try it free today.\nSubscribe here.\nOn AppStories+, we share a grab bag of bonus app picks.\nWe deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.\n\u2192 Source: appstories.net", "date_published": "2024-01-08T15:28:29-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-08T15:28:29-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "appstories", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73770", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-announces-vision-pro-pre-orders-and-availability/", "title": "Apple Announces Vision Pro Pre-Orders and Availability", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Apple has announced that the Vision Pro will be available for pre-order beginning on January 19th at 5 am Pacific time with the device available on Friday, February 2nd at Apple retail stores and its online store.

\n

The Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 and has 256GB of storage. The device comes with a Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band, a Light Seal, two Light Seal Cushions, a cover from the front of the Vision Pro, a polishing cloth, a battery, a USB-C charging cable and a USB-C power adapter. Also, ZEISS Optical is offering reader inserts for $99 and prescription inserts for $149 that will attach to the Vision Pro magnetically.

\n

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said of the device:

\n

\n The era of spatial computing has arrived. Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created. Its revolutionary and magical user interface will redefine how we connect, create, and explore.\n

\n

Today’s Apple Newsroom announcement includes images of the Solo Knit Band, Dual Loop Band, and Light Seal:

\n
\"The

The Apple Vision Pro’s Solo Knit Band. Source: Apple.

\n
\"The

The Apple Vision Pro’s Dual Loop Band. Source: Apple.

\n
\"The

The Apple Vision Pro’s Light Seal and Digital Crown. Source: Apple.

\n

As previously announced at WWDC in June 2023, the Apple Vision Pro will be initially available in the US only. Left unanswered by today’s announcement is whether additional storage options will be available and what they will cost. Also left unsaid is how ordering the ZEISS Optical inserts will work.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nApple has announced that the Vision Pro will be available for pre-order beginning on January 19th at 5 am Pacific time with the device available on Friday, February 2nd at Apple retail stores and its online store.\nThe Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 and has 256GB of storage. The device comes with a Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band, a Light Seal, two Light Seal Cushions, a cover from the front of the Vision Pro, a polishing cloth, a battery, a USB-C charging cable and a USB-C power adapter. Also, ZEISS Optical is offering reader inserts for $99 and prescription inserts for $149 that will attach to the Vision Pro magnetically.\nApple’s CEO Tim Cook said of the device:\n\n The era of spatial computing has arrived. Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created. Its revolutionary and magical user interface will redefine how we connect, create, and explore.\n\nToday’s Apple Newsroom announcement includes images of the Solo Knit Band, Dual Loop Band, and Light Seal:\nThe Apple Vision Pro’s Solo Knit Band. Source: Apple.\nThe Apple Vision Pro’s Dual Loop Band. Source: Apple.\nThe Apple Vision Pro’s Light Seal and Digital Crown. Source: Apple.\nAs previously announced at WWDC in June 2023, the Apple Vision Pro will be initially available in the US only. Left unanswered by today’s announcement is whether additional storage options will be available and what they will cost. Also left unsaid is how ordering the ZEISS Optical inserts will work.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-01-08T09:06:11-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-08T12:00:26-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Vision Pro", "visionOS", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73703", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/the-m3s-potential-to-transform-mac-gaming/", "title": "The M3\u2019s Potential to Transform Mac Gaming", "content_html": "

Raymond Wong has an excellent story on Inverse about the Mac and gaming. Wong spoke to multiple Apple representatives about its push to build Macs that can handle the most demanding PC and console games, exploring the impact of Apple silicon on the company’s efforts. In that vein, Doug Brooks, a member of the Mac product marketing team, told Inverse:

\n

\n Gaming was fundamentally part of the Apple silicon design. Before a chip even exists, gaming is fundamentally incorporated during those early planning stages and then throughout development. I think, big picture, when we design our chips, we really look at building balanced systems that provide great CPU, GPU, and memory performance. Of course, [games] need powerful GPUs, but they need all of those features, and our chips are designed to deliver on that goal. If you look at the chips that go in the latest consoles, they look a lot like that with integrated CPU, GPU, and memory.\n

\n

That integrated, console-like approach has the added benefit of bringing the iPhone and iPad along for the ride, greatly expanding the potential size of the market for game developers. According to Leland Martin, one of Apple’s software marketing managers:

\n

\n If you look at the Mac lineup just a few years ago, there was a mix of both integrated and discrete GPUs. That can add complexity when you’re developing games. Because you have multiple different hardware permutations to consider. Today, we’ve effectively eliminated that completely with Apple silicon, creating a unified gaming platform now across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Once a game is designed for one platform, it’s a straightforward process to bring it to the other two. We’re seeing this play out with games like Resident Evil Village that launched first [on Mac] followed by iPhone and iPad.\n

\n

With the introduction of the M3 family of chips, Apple’s gaming story continues to evolve by adding hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shaders, and Dynamic Caching, which determines on-the-fly the amount of memory to make available to the M3’s GPU for improved performance. Those chip enhancements are paired with new developer tools designed to make it easier to bring games to the Mac.

\n

There are a lot of variables at play, and whether Apple can compete head-to-head with PC and console games is far from certain. However, what’s clear is that Apple is doing more than at any time in recent memory to make a run at the top end of the videogame market.

\n

Some of the fruits of those efforts are beginning to appear on the App Store. Capcom’s Resident Evil Village debuted on the Mac in the fall of 2022 and more recently on the iPhone and iPad. As Wong notes, Lies of P, one of the top releases of the year was released on the Mac at the same time as other platforms, and Baldur’s Gate 3 was released on Steam for the Mac just a couple of months after its debut on other platforms. Plus, Capcom is back with Resident Evil 4 on every Apple device, and Death Stranding is slated for early next year. That’s a lot of top-notch games.

\n

I’ve been playing many of these titles across an original M1 MacBook Air, M1 Max Mac Studio, and, most recently, on M3 Max MacBook Pro that Apple sent me, and the early results aren’t surprising. The M1 MacBook Air struggles, while the M3 Max MacBook Pro looks stunning. That may not make any Mac the best choice for gaming today, but with the M3, the technology to make it competitive with PCs and consoles is emerging and will inevitably trickle down to more affordable Macs over time.

\n

Whether that happens fast enough and whether Apple can attract the biggest games are just two of many open questions. However, as we head into 2024, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far and plan to share more of my ongoing exploration of Mac gaming in the new year.

\n

\u2192 Source: inverse.com

", "content_text": "Raymond Wong has an excellent story on Inverse about the Mac and gaming. Wong spoke to multiple Apple representatives about its push to build Macs that can handle the most demanding PC and console games, exploring the impact of Apple silicon on the company’s efforts. In that vein, Doug Brooks, a member of the Mac product marketing team, told Inverse:\n\n Gaming was fundamentally part of the Apple silicon design. Before a chip even exists, gaming is fundamentally incorporated during those early planning stages and then throughout development. I think, big picture, when we design our chips, we really look at building balanced systems that provide great CPU, GPU, and memory performance. Of course, [games] need powerful GPUs, but they need all of those features, and our chips are designed to deliver on that goal. If you look at the chips that go in the latest consoles, they look a lot like that with integrated CPU, GPU, and memory.\n\nThat integrated, console-like approach has the added benefit of bringing the iPhone and iPad along for the ride, greatly expanding the potential size of the market for game developers. According to Leland Martin, one of Apple’s software marketing managers:\n\n If you look at the Mac lineup just a few years ago, there was a mix of both integrated and discrete GPUs. That can add complexity when you’re developing games. Because you have multiple different hardware permutations to consider. Today, we’ve effectively eliminated that completely with Apple silicon, creating a unified gaming platform now across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Once a game is designed for one platform, it’s a straightforward process to bring it to the other two. We’re seeing this play out with games like Resident Evil Village that launched first [on Mac] followed by iPhone and iPad.\n\nWith the introduction of the M3 family of chips, Apple’s gaming story continues to evolve by adding hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shaders, and Dynamic Caching, which determines on-the-fly the amount of memory to make available to the M3’s GPU for improved performance. Those chip enhancements are paired with new developer tools designed to make it easier to bring games to the Mac.\nThere are a lot of variables at play, and whether Apple can compete head-to-head with PC and console games is far from certain. However, what’s clear is that Apple is doing more than at any time in recent memory to make a run at the top end of the videogame market.\nSome of the fruits of those efforts are beginning to appear on the App Store. Capcom’s Resident Evil Village debuted on the Mac in the fall of 2022 and more recently on the iPhone and iPad. As Wong notes, Lies of P, one of the top releases of the year was released on the Mac at the same time as other platforms, and Baldur’s Gate 3 was released on Steam for the Mac just a couple of months after its debut on other platforms. Plus, Capcom is back with Resident Evil 4 on every Apple device, and Death Stranding is slated for early next year. That’s a lot of top-notch games.\nI’ve been playing many of these titles across an original M1 MacBook Air, M1 Max Mac Studio, and, most recently, on M3 Max MacBook Pro that Apple sent me, and the early results aren’t surprising. The M1 MacBook Air struggles, while the M3 Max MacBook Pro looks stunning. That may not make any Mac the best choice for gaming today, but with the M3, the technology to make it competitive with PCs and consoles is emerging and will inevitably trickle down to more affordable Macs over time.\nWhether that happens fast enough and whether Apple can attract the biggest games are just two of many open questions. However, as we head into 2024, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far and plan to share more of my ongoing exploration of Mac gaming in the new year.\n\u2192 Source: inverse.com", "date_published": "2023-12-29T15:05:02-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-30T13:07:26-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Apple Silicon", "games", "M3", "macOS", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73696", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/an-investigation-into-the-home-apps-clean-power-forecast-feature/", "title": "An Investigation into the Home App\u2019s Clean Power Forecast Feature", "content_html": "
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Ever since Apple’s OSes were updated in the fall, I’ve been intrigued by the Home app’s new Clean Grid Forecast feature that predicts periods when the energy you use is ‘More Clean.’ The feature immediately reminded me of Clean Energy Charging, which works with Optimized Battery Charging, to charge your iPhone during periods when the electricity generated in your area is cleanest.

\n

However, Clean Grid Forecast also raised more questions in my mind than it answered, like ‘What does More Clean mean?’ and ‘How does Apple know if the energy is cleaner?,’ and ‘How much cleaner is it anyway?’ These are the kind of answers that GridStatus.io, a website that offers electrical grid data, set out to answer by comparing Apple’s ‘More Clean’ periods with publicly available energy generation data.

\n

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It turns out that there’s not a lot of information about Apple’s Clean Grid Forecast. As GridStatus explains, what we know is that:

\n
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On the iPhone support page we learn one more piece of information, that the grid forecast is available in the contiguous U.S. only.\n

\n

That didn’t give GridStatus a lot with which to work, and although they tried to validate Apple’s forecasts, the results were inconclusive:

\n

\n without more info it’s hard to find evidence that what Apple’s doing here is little more than a novelty. Something for them to point to as “doing their part”, while providing no actionable information to verify or additional materials for their customers to learn from.\n

\n

That’s not to say that the forecasts are incorrect. It’s just that Apple hasn’t shared enough information to judge the quality of its forecasts with any degree of certainty, which is disappointing.

\n

With Clean Grid Forecast, Apple has an opportunity to extend its impact on energy consumption well beyond its products. Integrated with home automation, accurate forecasts could make it easier to schedule energy-intensive tasks during ‘More Clean’ periods. That’s not currently possible because the feature doesn’t extend beyond the Home app and its widgets. Sure, you can watch the forecast and defer tasks until you’re in a ‘More Clean’ zone, but a little automation would go a long way toward making task scheduling a reality.

\n

The first step, though, is convincing consumers that deferring tasks is worth the trouble. One way Apple can do that is by sharing more information about how the Clean Grid Forecast works, providing some level of confidence that deferring tasks makes a difference. Next, Apple should integrate the forecasts directly into OS features and automation tools like Shortcuts, Siri, and home automation. Finally, I’d like to see Apple open up the forecasts to third parties so they can be integrated directly into hardware and software outside of Apple’s product lineup. That may strike some as unlikely, but with the company’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2030, it’s a chance for the company to have an impact well beyond its own products.

\n

I realize that this is all easier said than done. At least in the US, energy production is a vast patchwork of local facilities, and there are many variables that affect whether energy is ‘More Clean’ than usual. However, by being transparent about how ‘More Clean’ is determined and offering tools that give consumers better control over when they consume power, Apple has an opportunity to empower people to take proactive steps to reduce carbon emissions and promote thoughtful decisions about power consumption on a massive scale. My hope is that Clean Power Forecasts is just the tip of the iceberg of what Apple has planned for managing energy usage in 2024.

\n

\u2192 Source: blog.gridstatus.io

", "content_text": "Ever since Apple’s OSes were updated in the fall, I’ve been intrigued by the Home app’s new Clean Grid Forecast feature that predicts periods when the energy you use is ‘More Clean.’ The feature immediately reminded me of Clean Energy Charging, which works with Optimized Battery Charging, to charge your iPhone during periods when the electricity generated in your area is cleanest.\nHowever, Clean Grid Forecast also raised more questions in my mind than it answered, like ‘What does More Clean mean?’ and ‘How does Apple know if the energy is cleaner?,’ and ‘How much cleaner is it anyway?’ These are the kind of answers that GridStatus.io, a website that offers electrical grid data, set out to answer by comparing Apple’s ‘More Clean’ periods with publicly available energy generation data.\n\nIt turns out that there’s not a lot of information about Apple’s Clean Grid Forecast. As GridStatus explains, what we know is that:\n\nIt’s a forecast - this is important because a forecast is going to have some imperfections; and possibly change over time;\nIt’s location-based, perhaps down to individual towns or counties;\nThe forecast goes 12 hours out and seems to be in half-hour increments.\n On the iPhone support page we learn one more piece of information, that the grid forecast is available in the contiguous U.S. only.\n\nThat didn’t give GridStatus a lot with which to work, and although they tried to validate Apple’s forecasts, the results were inconclusive:\n\n without more info it’s hard to find evidence that what Apple’s doing here is little more than a novelty. Something for them to point to as “doing their part”, while providing no actionable information to verify or additional materials for their customers to learn from.\n\nThat’s not to say that the forecasts are incorrect. It’s just that Apple hasn’t shared enough information to judge the quality of its forecasts with any degree of certainty, which is disappointing.\nWith Clean Grid Forecast, Apple has an opportunity to extend its impact on energy consumption well beyond its products. Integrated with home automation, accurate forecasts could make it easier to schedule energy-intensive tasks during ‘More Clean’ periods. That’s not currently possible because the feature doesn’t extend beyond the Home app and its widgets. Sure, you can watch the forecast and defer tasks until you’re in a ‘More Clean’ zone, but a little automation would go a long way toward making task scheduling a reality.\nThe first step, though, is convincing consumers that deferring tasks is worth the trouble. One way Apple can do that is by sharing more information about how the Clean Grid Forecast works, providing some level of confidence that deferring tasks makes a difference. Next, Apple should integrate the forecasts directly into OS features and automation tools like Shortcuts, Siri, and home automation. Finally, I’d like to see Apple open up the forecasts to third parties so they can be integrated directly into hardware and software outside of Apple’s product lineup. That may strike some as unlikely, but with the company’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2030, it’s a chance for the company to have an impact well beyond its own products.\nI realize that this is all easier said than done. At least in the US, energy production is a vast patchwork of local facilities, and there are many variables that affect whether energy is ‘More Clean’ than usual. However, by being transparent about how ‘More Clean’ is determined and offering tools that give consumers better control over when they consume power, Apple has an opportunity to empower people to take proactive steps to reduce carbon emissions and promote thoughtful decisions about power consumption on a massive scale. My hope is that Clean Power Forecasts is just the tip of the iceberg of what Apple has planned for managing energy usage in 2024.\n\u2192 Source: blog.gridstatus.io", "date_published": "2023-12-28T09:25:31-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-28T09:37:11-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "automation", "environment", "home automation", "shortcuts", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73692", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/apple-watch-series-9-and-ultra-2-ban-takes-effect-apple-appeals/", "title": "Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Ban Takes Effect; Apple Appeals", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

As a result of an International Trade Commission ruling banning Apple from importing Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches into the United States, the company told 9to5Mac on December 18th that it would pull the two models from its online store on December 21st and from retail stores after December 24th, which it did. The ITC’s ruling was subject to a potential veto by U.S. President Biden by December 25th, but today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a statement that it has decided against vetoing the ITC ruling, meaning that the ruling is now final.

\n

In a statement to Reuters, an Apple representative said:

\n

\n We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.\n

\n

The company also confirmed to Reuters that it had filed an appeal of the ITC’s ruling. Last week, the ITC declined to put the ban on hold pending the appeal.

\n

Without a veto, no stay pending Apple’s appeal of the ITC’s ruling, and Apple’s quarterly earnings report roughly five weeks away, Masimo appears to be in a strong position to extract a favorable licensing deal from Apple unless the company can find a software or other solution to the dispute.

\n

\u2192 Source: reuters.com

", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nAs a result of an International Trade Commission ruling banning Apple from importing Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches into the United States, the company told 9to5Mac on December 18th that it would pull the two models from its online store on December 21st and from retail stores after December 24th, which it did. The ITC’s ruling was subject to a potential veto by U.S. President Biden by December 25th, but today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a statement that it has decided against vetoing the ITC ruling, meaning that the ruling is now final.\nIn a statement to Reuters, an Apple representative said:\n\n We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.\n\nThe company also confirmed to Reuters that it had filed an appeal of the ITC’s ruling. Last week, the ITC declined to put the ban on hold pending the appeal.\nWithout a veto, no stay pending Apple’s appeal of the ITC’s ruling, and Apple’s quarterly earnings report roughly five weeks away, Masimo appears to be in a strong position to extract a favorable licensing deal from Apple unless the company can find a software or other solution to the dispute.\n\u2192 Source: reuters.com", "date_published": "2023-12-26T11:14:06-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-26T11:14:06-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73688", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/macstories-unwind-the-best-videogame-hardware-and-games-of-2023/", "title": "MacStories Unwind: The Best Videogame Hardware and Games of 2023", "content_html": "
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37:15\n
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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I recap our videogame hardware experiments of 2023 and pick our favorite games of the year.

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Hardware Picks

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Game Picks

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Backlogs

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Also mentioned:
GameTrack, an iOS, iPadOS, and Mac game tracking app

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MacStories Unwind+

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\"\"

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We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.

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To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "0:0037:15\n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \nThis week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I recap our videogame hardware experiments of 2023 and pick our favorite games of the year.\nHardware Picks\nAsus ROG Ally\nXG Mobile 4090\nOLED Steam Deck\nSteam Clip\nDeckmate\nAllymate\n\nXREAL Air\nUVC Capture on the iPad\nOrion app\n\nAyn Odin 2 Pro\nDaijisho\nHandheldDIY\nGame Picks\nJoint Game of the Year\nThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom\n\nOther Joint Picks\nMetroid Prime Remastered\nSuper Mario Bros. Wonder\n\nFederico’s Other Picks:\nCocoon\nSea of Stars\n\nJohn’s Other Pick:\nHi-Fi Rush\n\nBacklogs\nFederico\nLies of P\nJusant\nFinal Fantasy XVI\nChants of Sennaar\nBaldurs Gate 3\nArmored Core VI, Fires of Rubicon\nResident Evil 4 Remake\nBlasphemous 2\n\nJohn\nSpider-Man 2\nDave the Diver\nDredge\n\nAlso mentioned:GameTrack, an iOS, iPadOS, and Mac game tracking app\nMacStories Unwind+\n\nWe deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2023-12-22T10:43:01-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-22T10:43:01-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "unwind", "news" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/9410cab2-ff48-4bf4-aa20-101c8cfd77f9/audio/941b0101-d603-443f-abb4-3aae80151f90/default_tc.mp3?nocache", "mime_type": "audio/mpeg", "size_in_bytes": 27173799 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73674", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/big-name-netflix-games-releases-mac-game-stats-from-developers-and-resident-evil-4-and-grid-legends-released-in-time-for-the-holidays/", "title": "Big-Name Netflix Games Releases, Mac Game Stats from Developers, and Resident Evil 4 and GRID Legends Released in Time for the Holidays", "content_html": "
\"A

A scene from GTA: Vice City. Source: Rockstar Games.

\n

There’s been a lot of gaming activity on Apple platforms, with several big announcements in recent weeks.

\n

First off, Netflix continues to nab some big titles for its growing catalog of games on iOS and iPadOS. In October, it was announced that one of my all-time favorite games, Dead Cells, which won a MacStories Selects award in 2019, would join Netflix Games.

\n

More recently, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which includes GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, was released simultaneously on iOS and iPadOS as part of Netflix games. According to Kotaku, these Netflix versions of the games, which are also available as separate App Store purchases, have been updated to fix visual glitches and spruce things up a bit, too.

\n

\n
\"Resident

Resident Evil 4. Source: Capcom.

\n

Resident Evil 4 from Capcom is out on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Capcom is currently offering the game for 50% off, with DLC 25% off for a limited time.

\n

Based on early reviews, the consensus seems to be that, at least when it comes to mobile devices, the game is best on an iPad Pro, which isn’t terribly surprising. Unlike non-Apple platforms, RE4’s graphics options have been locked on the iPhone and iPad, and frame rates are capped at 30fps. Nonetheless, early reports indicate that the game still has trouble hitting 30fps at times, especially on the iPhone, including the iPhone 15 Pro models. On mobile devices, the game has the same onscreen controls as Resident Evil Village, that cover a lot of the game’s action, so a separate controller is recommended. Despite the visual hiccups, TouchArcade concludes that the Resident Evil 4 remake is ‘an easy recommendation.’ I haven’t had a chance to play Resident Evil 4 yet, but plan to do so over the holidays.

\n

A couple of game developers shared interesting Mac sales statistics this fall too. The developers of The Pale Beyond mentioned in a late November video that 5.26% of its players were playing the game on the Steam Deck compared to 1.36% on the Mac. Both numbers are tiny compared to Windows but show the kind of odds that game developers are up against when porting games to the Mac. Similar statistics led Valve to announce in October that Counter-Strike 2 would not be coming to the Mac because its players were ‘less than one percent of active CS:GO players.’ Recent Apple silicon Macs are better suited to gaming than ever before, but obviously, there’s still a long way to go.

\n
\"GRID

GRID Legends.

\n

Finally, I’ll leave you with a game recommendation for the holidays. GRID Legends was ported to the Mac by Feral Interactive earlier this month, and it’s a lot of fun. I’ve covered Feral Interactive ports of GRID games before, and this Mac-only version of Legends is every bit as good as earlier ports.

\n

I’ve been playing GRID Legends on and off over the past week and love the story mode and tight integration with third-party controllers. The racing game, which debuted on other platforms in late 2022, runs smoothly at high frame rates when playing at 1080p on my Mac Studio but struggles at higher resolutions. I recently switched to playing on an M3 Max MacBook Pro that Apple sent me for testing, which kicked performance up significantly. Plus, the game looks absolutely gorgeous on the MacBook Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR display.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "A scene from GTA: Vice City. Source: Rockstar Games.\nThere’s been a lot of gaming activity on Apple platforms, with several big announcements in recent weeks.\nFirst off, Netflix continues to nab some big titles for its growing catalog of games on iOS and iPadOS. In October, it was announced that one of my all-time favorite games, Dead Cells, which won a MacStories Selects award in 2019, would join Netflix Games.\nMore recently, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which includes GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, was released simultaneously on iOS and iPadOS as part of Netflix games. According to Kotaku, these Netflix versions of the games, which are also available as separate App Store purchases, have been updated to fix visual glitches and spruce things up a bit, too.\n\nResident Evil 4. Source: Capcom.\nResident Evil 4 from Capcom is out on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Capcom is currently offering the game for 50% off, with DLC 25% off for a limited time.\nBased on early reviews, the consensus seems to be that, at least when it comes to mobile devices, the game is best on an iPad Pro, which isn’t terribly surprising. Unlike non-Apple platforms, RE4’s graphics options have been locked on the iPhone and iPad, and frame rates are capped at 30fps. Nonetheless, early reports indicate that the game still has trouble hitting 30fps at times, especially on the iPhone, including the iPhone 15 Pro models. On mobile devices, the game has the same onscreen controls as Resident Evil Village, that cover a lot of the game’s action, so a separate controller is recommended. Despite the visual hiccups, TouchArcade concludes that the Resident Evil 4 remake is ‘an easy recommendation.’ I haven’t had a chance to play Resident Evil 4 yet, but plan to do so over the holidays.\nA couple of game developers shared interesting Mac sales statistics this fall too. The developers of The Pale Beyond mentioned in a late November video that 5.26% of its players were playing the game on the Steam Deck compared to 1.36% on the Mac. Both numbers are tiny compared to Windows but show the kind of odds that game developers are up against when porting games to the Mac. Similar statistics led Valve to announce in October that Counter-Strike 2 would not be coming to the Mac because its players were ‘less than one percent of active CS:GO players.’ Recent Apple silicon Macs are better suited to gaming than ever before, but obviously, there’s still a long way to go.\nGRID Legends.\nFinally, I’ll leave you with a game recommendation for the holidays. GRID Legends was ported to the Mac by Feral Interactive earlier this month, and it’s a lot of fun. I’ve covered Feral Interactive ports of GRID games before, and this Mac-only version of Legends is every bit as good as earlier ports.\nI’ve been playing GRID Legends on and off over the past week and love the story mode and tight integration with third-party controllers. The racing game, which debuted on other platforms in late 2022, runs smoothly at high frame rates when playing at 1080p on my Mac Studio but struggles at higher resolutions. I recently switched to playing on an M3 Max MacBook Pro that Apple sent me for testing, which kicked performance up significantly. Plus, the game looks absolutely gorgeous on the MacBook Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR display.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2023-12-21T09:50:25-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-21T09:50:58-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "games", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73659", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/appstories-episode-364-fixing-the-share-sheet/", "title": "AppStories, Episode 364 \u2013 Fixing the Share Sheet", "content_html": "

This week on AppStories, we rethink the share sheet and other ways Apple’s platforms share data.

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Sponsored by:

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\"[Subscribe

Subscribe here.

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On AppStories+, Federico shares his experiment with moving to an 11-inch iPad Pro and his iPhone as a second screen setup.

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We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

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To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

\n

\u2192 Source: appstories.net

", "content_text": "This week on AppStories, we rethink the share sheet and other ways Apple’s platforms share data.\n\n \n \n \n \nSponsored by:\nZocdoc – Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free.\nNotion – Do your most efficient work with Notion AI. Try it free today.\nSubscribe here.\nOn AppStories+, Federico shares his experiment with moving to an 11-inch iPad Pro and his iPhone as a second screen setup.\nWe deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.\n\u2192 Source: appstories.net", "date_published": "2023-12-19T10:59:22-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-19T10:59:22-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "appstories", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73665", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/apple-announces-plans-to-pause-sales-of-the-apple-watch-series-9-and-ultra-2-in-the-wake-of-itc-ruling/", "title": "Apple Announces Plans to Pause Sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the Wake of ITC Ruling", "content_html": "

In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said that it “pausing” sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States, beginning later this week. Neither model of Watch will be available on Apple’s online store starting December 21st, and the company will no longer sell them at retail locations after December 24th. The announcement comes on the heels of a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission earlier this year that was the result of an intellectual property complaint filed by Masimo, a medical technology company.

\n

Apple and Masimo have been locked in disputes over the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor for years, which Masimo says infringes patents it holds. The dispute is the subject of a federal court lawsuit and the complaint filed with the ITC, which ruled in Masimo’s favor in October. That decision is subject to executive review by the Biden administration and could be vetoed, but time is running out, and vetos are historically rare.

\n

If President Biden doesn’t veto the ITC’s ruling by Christmas, the ruling will stand. Apple could appeal the ITC’s decision in federal court, but that won’t impact the ban on U.S. sales of the two Apple Watch models, according to 9to5Mac. Apple could also settle with Masimo and license its technology or try to find a way to work around Masimo’s patents.

\n

If I had to guess what’s going on here, I’d say it’s a high-stakes game of corporate chicken. Masimo got a ruling from the ITC that gave it leverage, so they asked for a big licensing deal. The Biden administration probably doesn’t want to deal with the dispute or look like it’s bailing out a big tech company, so I bet it told the parties to work things out, assuming Apple would pay up. Whether it ultimately will, only Apple knows, but it’s decided to force the Biden administration’s hand on the veto. If the ruling is vetoed, Apple’s existing court fight with Masimo continues, and the Series 9 and Ultra 2 go back on sale on December 26th. If not, the company still has the option to settle, which I have to imagine is preferable to pulling products from shelves for a potentially extended period of time.

\n

\u2192 Source: 9to5mac.com

", "content_text": "In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said that it “pausing” sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States, beginning later this week. Neither model of Watch will be available on Apple’s online store starting December 21st, and the company will no longer sell them at retail locations after December 24th. The announcement comes on the heels of a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission earlier this year that was the result of an intellectual property complaint filed by Masimo, a medical technology company.\nApple and Masimo have been locked in disputes over the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor for years, which Masimo says infringes patents it holds. The dispute is the subject of a federal court lawsuit and the complaint filed with the ITC, which ruled in Masimo’s favor in October. That decision is subject to executive review by the Biden administration and could be vetoed, but time is running out, and vetos are historically rare.\nIf President Biden doesn’t veto the ITC’s ruling by Christmas, the ruling will stand. Apple could appeal the ITC’s decision in federal court, but that won’t impact the ban on U.S. sales of the two Apple Watch models, according to 9to5Mac. Apple could also settle with Masimo and license its technology or try to find a way to work around Masimo’s patents.\nIf I had to guess what’s going on here, I’d say it’s a high-stakes game of corporate chicken. Masimo got a ruling from the ITC that gave it leverage, so they asked for a big licensing deal. The Biden administration probably doesn’t want to deal with the dispute or look like it’s bailing out a big tech company, so I bet it told the parties to work things out, assuming Apple would pay up. Whether it ultimately will, only Apple knows, but it’s decided to force the Biden administration’s hand on the veto. If the ruling is vetoed, Apple’s existing court fight with Masimo continues, and the Series 9 and Ultra 2 go back on sale on December 26th. If not, the company still has the option to settle, which I have to imagine is preferable to pulling products from shelves for a potentially extended period of time.\n\u2192 Source: 9to5mac.com", "date_published": "2023-12-18T10:00:37-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-18T10:00:37-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "apple watch", "Apple Watch Ultra", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73656", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/macstories-unwind-the-best-tv-shows-and-movies-of-2023/", "title": "MacStories Unwind: The Best TV Shows and Movies of 2023", "content_html": "
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32:41\n
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This week on MacStories Unwind,  Federico and I share our favorite TV shows and movies of 2023 and discuss the return of Europe to Threads.

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Sponsored By:

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Threads Returns to Europe

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Federico’s TV Picks:

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John’s TV Picks:

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John’s Movie Picks:

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MacStories Unwind+

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We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.

\n

To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "0:0032:41\n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \nThis week on MacStories Unwind,  Federico and I share our favorite TV shows and movies of 2023 and discuss the return of Europe to Threads.\nSponsored By:\nTelevision Time – Your Ultimate Companion for tracking your favorite shows, and discovering new ones.\nKolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps. It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!\nThreads Returns to Europe\nThe MacStories Team Is on Threads (Again)\nFederico’s TV Picks:\nSuburræterna on Netflix\nTed Lasso on Apple TV+\nPlatonic on Apple TV+\nFor All Mankind on Apple TV+\nAlso mentioned:\nMedia tracking app, Sequel\n\nJohn’s TV Picks:\nLessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+\nSlow Horses on Apple TV+\nShrinking on Apple TV+\nSilo on Apple TV+\nThe Last of Us on Max\nA Murder at the End of the World on Hulu\nJohn’s Movie Picks:\nAstroid City\nSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse\nMacStories Unwind+\n\nWe deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.\nTo learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2023-12-15T13:51:52-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-15T13:51:52-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "unwind", "news" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/53dda4e1-669b-422f-9efd-8106c76554d0/audio/6a9d332a-2cbb-4c58-9140-fd4229155ef2/default_tc.mp3?nocache", "mime_type": "audio/mpeg", "size_in_bytes": 23978040 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73646", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/adding-colorful-animated-flare-to-the-holiday-season-with-hues-festavia-lights/", "title": "Adding Colorful, Animated Flare to the Holiday Season with Hue\u2019s Festavia Lights", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Philips Hue.

\n

A couple of weekends ago, after we put up our Christmas tree, I broke out Hue’s Festavia lights, which the company recently sent me to test. Ever since we moved in late 2022, we’ve had a generic string of big-bulb white lights hanging around the perimeter of the second-floor balcony that I controlled with the help of an outdoor smart plug. The setup provided a little extra light and atmosphere whenever we sat outside in the evening, which I enjoyed. However, I was also curious to see how I could take the setup further and add some holiday cheer with a set of the Festavia lights. So, instead of putting the lights on our tree, I replaced our existing balcony lights with the Hue lights.

\n

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Philips Hue offers two sets of Festavia lights: one with 250 lights and the other with 500. At first glance, the lights look a lot like traditional Christmas tree lights, with each tiny LED light spaced about three inches from the next one on a long cord.

\n

Philips Hue sent me its 500-light string of lights, which stretch to over 130 feet (nearly 40 meters) in length. To put that in context, my balcony is roughly 19 feet (5.8m) x 8 feet (2.4m), so I was able to circle the perimeter twice. The 250-light model is half that length and would have worked, too, but I prefer the look of the second loop and the extra light it provides.

\n

Unlike the lights I’ve put on Christmas trees in the past, the power adapter of the 500-light model of Festavia lights is in the middle of the string with lights, extending to the left and right of the cord in a ‘T’ shape. The lights can be used for decorating a Christmas tree, in which case Hue recommends wrapping each strand from just below the middle of the tree and moving up with one strand and down with the other for the best lighting effects. Our tree is artificial and pre-lit, which is why I hung the lights on my balcony instead, draping them from the hooks I already had in place for our old set of lights.

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Hanging the lights, which are weatherproof, dimmable, and can change color, was easy. So was adding them to the Hue app, which works the same as adding any other Hue product to its app.

\n

The same app allows you to control your Festavia lights alongside any other Hue lights you own, turning them on and off, creating scenes, adjusting colors, and setting up automations. Many of the same features can be controlled in Apple’s Home app, but it pays off to spend some time in the Hue app browsing through its gallery of colorful scenes, which include several holiday-themed color schemes.

\n

Also, the Festavia lights offer effects, which can be accessed in the Hue app to animate your lights. There are six effects in total:

\n

Each effect has a different color scheme and automatically dims and brightens the lights in animated sequences. This is where the Festavia lights really set themselves apart from using a standard string of lights with a smart plug. With the wide array of colors that Hue’s lights can simultaneously display and animate, the range of possible effects is vast.

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Setting up scenes and effects in the Philips Hue app.

\n

Overall, the build quality of the Festavia lights is excellent, too, which makes them great for outdoor use where they’re exposed to the elements. That said, I’ve only used the lights for a couple of weeks so far, so longevity is an open question. Fortunately, though, the lights come with a two-year warranty, and it’s worth noting that I’ve used other Hue products for years and never had one break.

\n

So, if you’re looking for maximum flexibility to decorate a Christmas tree this year or just want to add some colorful, animated flare to your home, the Festavia lights are an excellent, although expensive, choice. Hue Festavia lights can be purchased directly from Hue, Amazon, and other retailers for $219.99 (250-light set) or $359.99 (500-light set).

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Philips Hue.\nA couple of weekends ago, after we put up our Christmas tree, I broke out Hue’s Festavia lights, which the company recently sent me to test. Ever since we moved in late 2022, we’ve had a generic string of big-bulb white lights hanging around the perimeter of the second-floor balcony that I controlled with the help of an outdoor smart plug. The setup provided a little extra light and atmosphere whenever we sat outside in the evening, which I enjoyed. However, I was also curious to see how I could take the setup further and add some holiday cheer with a set of the Festavia lights. So, instead of putting the lights on our tree, I replaced our existing balcony lights with the Hue lights.\n\n\nPhilips Hue offers two sets of Festavia lights: one with 250 lights and the other with 500. At first glance, the lights look a lot like traditional Christmas tree lights, with each tiny LED light spaced about three inches from the next one on a long cord.\nPhilips Hue sent me its 500-light string of lights, which stretch to over 130 feet (nearly 40 meters) in length. To put that in context, my balcony is roughly 19 feet (5.8m) x 8 feet (2.4m), so I was able to circle the perimeter twice. The 250-light model is half that length and would have worked, too, but I prefer the look of the second loop and the extra light it provides.\nUnlike the lights I’ve put on Christmas trees in the past, the power adapter of the 500-light model of Festavia lights is in the middle of the string with lights, extending to the left and right of the cord in a ‘T’ shape. The lights can be used for decorating a Christmas tree, in which case Hue recommends wrapping each strand from just below the middle of the tree and moving up with one strand and down with the other for the best lighting effects. Our tree is artificial and pre-lit, which is why I hung the lights on my balcony instead, draping them from the hooks I already had in place for our old set of lights.\n\nHanging the lights, which are weatherproof, dimmable, and can change color, was easy. So was adding them to the Hue app, which works the same as adding any other Hue product to its app.\nThe same app allows you to control your Festavia lights alongside any other Hue lights you own, turning them on and off, creating scenes, adjusting colors, and setting up automations. Many of the same features can be controlled in Apple’s Home app, but it pays off to spend some time in the Hue app browsing through its gallery of colorful scenes, which include several holiday-themed color schemes.\nAlso, the Festavia lights offer effects, which can be accessed in the Hue app to animate your lights. There are six effects in total:\nCandle\nFireplace\nSparkle\nGlisten\nOpal\nPrism\nEach effect has a different color scheme and automatically dims and brightens the lights in animated sequences. This is where the Festavia lights really set themselves apart from using a standard string of lights with a smart plug. With the wide array of colors that Hue’s lights can simultaneously display and animate, the range of possible effects is vast.\nSetting up scenes and effects in the Philips Hue app.\nOverall, the build quality of the Festavia lights is excellent, too, which makes them great for outdoor use where they’re exposed to the elements. That said, I’ve only used the lights for a couple of weeks so far, so longevity is an open question. Fortunately, though, the lights come with a two-year warranty, and it’s worth noting that I’ve used other Hue products for years and never had one break.\nSo, if you’re looking for maximum flexibility to decorate a Christmas tree this year or just want to add some colorful, animated flare to your home, the Festavia lights are an excellent, although expensive, choice. Hue Festavia lights can be purchased directly from Hue, Amazon, and other retailers for $219.99 (250-light set) or $359.99 (500-light set).\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2023-12-14T14:11:06-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-14T14:11:06-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "home automation", "HomeKit", "Smart Home", "reviews" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=73625", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/the-macstories-team-is-on-threads-again/", "title": "The MacStories Team Is on Threads (Again)", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

With Threads’ launch in Europe today, we thought it would be a good time to reintroduce readers to the MacStories Threads account as well as those of the MacStories team.

\n

It’s been quite a year for social media. Almost exactly one year ago today, we announced that MacStories had established its own dedicated Mastodon server for MacStories, AppStories, and Club MacStories. That move has been successful beyond our wildest imaginations. MacStories’ core audience is on Mastodon, which has made it the perfect place to interact with readers and listeners.

\n

However, not everyone is on Mastodon. That’s why we created MacStories Instagram and Threads accounts earlier this year. Federico and I have been on Instagram for years and joined Threads immediately, although it wasn’t long before Meta prevented Federico and other users in the EU from accessing Threads.

\n

Today, Meta has reopened Threads to Europe, which means Federico, Silvia, and Niléane are back on the service along with Alex, Jonathan, and me. So, today, we thought we’d reintroduce the MacStories Threads account to everyone and link the team’s Threads accounts below to make it easy to follow whomever you’d like.

\n
\"\"

\n

You can expect to hear about the latest stories published by the team on MacStories.net, what’s going on with Club MacStories, and updates on AppStories, MacStories Unwind, and upcoming new projects if you follow MacStories. To follow individual team members, you can use the links below:

\n

We know that Threads isn’t for everyone, and the same is true of Mastodon, which is why we’re on both. So, wherever you’re hanging out these days, feel free to say hello. We love hearing from the MacStories community and are excited to have the full team together on Threads again.

\n

Support MacStories and Unlock Extras

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

\n

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

\n

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "With Threads’ launch in Europe today, we thought it would be a good time to reintroduce readers to the MacStories Threads account as well as those of the MacStories team.\nIt’s been quite a year for social media. Almost exactly one year ago today, we announced that MacStories had established its own dedicated Mastodon server for MacStories, AppStories, and Club MacStories. That move has been successful beyond our wildest imaginations. MacStories’ core audience is on Mastodon, which has made it the perfect place to interact with readers and listeners.\nHowever, not everyone is on Mastodon. That’s why we created MacStories Instagram and Threads accounts earlier this year. Federico and I have been on Instagram for years and joined Threads immediately, although it wasn’t long before Meta prevented Federico and other users in the EU from accessing Threads.\nToday, Meta has reopened Threads to Europe, which means Federico, Silvia, and Niléane are back on the service along with Alex, Jonathan, and me. So, today, we thought we’d reintroduce the MacStories Threads account to everyone and link the team’s Threads accounts below to make it easy to follow whomever you’d like.\n\nYou can expect to hear about the latest stories published by the team on MacStories.net, what’s going on with Club MacStories, and updates on AppStories, MacStories Unwind, and upcoming new projects if you follow MacStories. To follow individual team members, you can use the links below:\nFederico\nJohn\nAlex\nSilvia\nNiléane \nJonathan\nWe know that Threads isn’t for everyone, and the same is true of Mastodon, which is why we’re on both. So, wherever you’re hanging out these days, feel free to say hello. We love hearing from the MacStories community and are excited to have the full team together on Threads again.\nSupport MacStories and Unlock ExtrasFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.\nIn that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.\nThe Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2023-12-14T07:31:22-05:00", "date_modified": "2023-12-14T07:31:22-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "MacStories", "Social Media", "threads", "news" ] } ] }